Clément Molin Profile picture
Aug 18 18 tweets 7 min read Read on X
This is why giving away Donbass cannot be an option for Ukraine 🇺🇦

Donald Trump 🇺🇸 will ask Zelensky to give away Donbass in exchange for a ceasefire with Russia 🇷🇺.

It would mean giving 9 cities and the main fortifications to Russia without a fight.

🧵THREAD🧵1/18⬇️Image
Giving away Donbass may seem to be the solution to calm Putin and reach a ceasefire, or even the peace between Ukraine and Russia.

However this cannot be accepted by any government of Ukraine for few simple reasons. Image
Here, we are mainly talking about the non-occupied part of Donetsk oblast, since the northern part of Luhansk oblast is mainly rural and has been occupied without big fights in spring 2022.

This is what Russia took in 30 month (after the last ukrainian counter-offensive). Image
As @M0nstas states, this is 5100 km² in 30 months, it means there is still 6500km2 to be taken.

Also in the 5100km2, we count those cities :

-Bakhmut (biggest russian gain in 3 years) 80k pop
-Avdiivka 35k pop
-Torestk 35k pop
-Selydove 24k pop
-Kourakhove 20k pop
- - than 15k Image
So in 3 years of fight, with the main battles being waged in Donetsk oblast, Russia only took one "big" city (80k inhabitants) and smaller towns, all located in the periphery of Donetsk.

They still have to fight for the big cities of ukrainian controled Donbass.
In the 6500km2 to be taken we count :

-Kramatorsk 160k pop
-Sloviansk 120k pop
-Kostiantynivka 75k pop
-Pokrovsk 65k pop
-Droujkivka 60k pop
-Myrnohrad 50k pop
-Dobropilla 30k pop
-Lyman 22k pop
-Siversk 12k pop

In the lone Sloviansk-Kostiantynivka valley, 415k pop... Image
Who would be crazy enough to give away without a fight a total worth of more than 600k pop cities, while Russia only took ~250k pop cities in 3 years of war ?

This, without forgetting the area has industrial and mining potential, even if partly destroyed by 11 years of war. Image
With that stated, there is also the price for Russia. Russia is pushing constanlty in the region. Mainly with infantry, since Ukraine built large anti-vehicle oblastacles and is massively using drones.

This has an enormous human price for Russia. Image
Image
Image
That is the reason why Putin is not willing to fight for Pokrovsk, for Kramatorsk or Sloviansk.

He would lose too much men, the operation will take far more time and his economy will continue to suffer.

He is seeking an easy victory with D. Trump. Image
Also, Ukraine built massive fortifications in Donetsk oblast. This region is easily defendable. There are massive cities, industrial complexes, mines and undergrounds.

Everytime there is a field or a treeline, ukrainian fortifications are standing. Image
In this particular region, a big part of Ukraine's "New Donbass Line" is standing.

It goes from the southern part of the non-occupied part of the oblast to Izium, Kharkiv and now even Sumy ! Image
Here is a map of what would happen with this region in the hands of Russia.

No more big fortifications, an open terrain for further offensive actions in central Ukraine, to push to Dnipro, Poltava, Zaporizhia or Kharkiv oblasts. Image
If the region is handed over to Putin without a fight, it would place russian forces 10km to Izium, 26km to Lozova and 55km to Pavlohrad.

Those are the only cities west of Donbass, before Dnipro (120km) and Poltava (175km). Image
Ukrainian soldiers are not willing to give away Donbass, their region, the region they have been fighting for during 11 years, the one where they lost comrades.

Putin will not give anything in return, no Kherson, no Zaporizhia, no Kharkiv. So they have no interest in it.
But if Ukraine is not willing to leave Donbass to Russia without fighting, what will happen ?

Peace will probably not be found, Russia will continue to push and slowly taking the region, or maybe they will be forced to stop.
Russia's economy has been largely left untouched.

If tomorrow, ukrainian drones and missiles are destroying russian economy (factories, mines, oil and gas facilities, ports...), Putin may be forced to stop. Image
With Trump and the USA disengaging, it is now the role of Europe to continue to support Ukraine, as long as it is willing to fight.

France, Germany, the UK, Poland, Italy, the Baltics and Nordics countries must also become the real rear base of Ukraine. Image
Thank you for reading this thread.

Do not hesistate to share, like and follow my account for more in depth analysis.

I've also updated my biography with a longer version in french, you can translate it easily to know more about me.

x.com/clement_molin/…

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More from @clement_molin

Oct 3
En #Birmanie🇲🇲, la guerre dure depuis 4 ans et demi

Après le coup d'état des militaires de 2021, le pays a plongé dans la guerre civile.

Celle-ci oppose rébellions ethniques et pro-démocratie à la junte militaire soutenue par la Russie 🇷🇺 et la Chine 🇨🇳.

🧵THREAD🧵1/19 ⬇️Carte de @ThomasVLinge que j'ai modifié
Depuis plusieurs mois, la contre-offensive de la Tatmadaw -nom de l'armée birmane- dans l'Etat Shan progresse lentement.

Progressivement, la junte a renversé les gains de l'opération 1024 débuté en 2023 d'après @MyanmarWarMap

Image
D'un autre côté, @Nrg8000 a fait un bon travail avec la carte de Thomas Van Linge.

On voit en rouge les gains de la junte sur l'année passée et en bleu les gains de la coalition rebelle. Image
Read 19 tweets
Oct 1
L'Arménie🇦🇲peut-elle disparaitre ?

C'était le titre d'une conférence à laquelle j'avais assisté en 2022 auprès de la communauté arménienne en France. A l'époque, l'Azerbaïdjan🇦🇿 avait envahit 300km2 d'Arménie.

Pourtant, le contexte a changé et les enjeux aussi

🧵THREAD🧵1/19⬇️Image
J'ai terminé de cartographier l'ensemble des positions militaires arméniennes et azerbaïdjanaises le long de leur frontière bilatérale.

En tout, ce sont plus de 1 400 positions arméniennes et 1 000 positions azerbaïdjanaises recensées. Image
Ces positions nous permettent de voir la vulnérabilité arménienne, encerclée de deux côté, notamment au sud, par l'Azerbaïdjan.

On remarque également les quelques 300 km2 de terres arméniennes (frontière de 1991) occupés par l'Azerbaïdjan, ici à Vardenis. Image
Read 19 tweets
Sep 30
'South Donetsk' the main battle in Ukraine 🇺🇦 for now 2 years

After two months of forced "pause" in Pokrovsk, it seems Russia🇷🇺 is pushing again. At the same time, the push for Pokrovsk'e has not observed any pause.

Let's talk about the main battle in Ukraine

🧵THREAD🧵1/22⬇️
You all know my classification of the ukrainian war into different battle : Kyiv, Kherson I, Kharkiv I, Donbass I, Kharkiv II, Kherson II, Donbass II, Zaporizhia, Kursk and Donbass III ongoing.

This third Donbass battle since 2022 is for Donetsk and now Pokrovsk. Image
To remember, the first one occured with the first reorganisation of russian forces after their failure to take Kyiv, taking Marioupol and Sievierodonetsk.

They moved then to Kherson and started after the withdrawal the second one for Bakhmut. The third one started in nov. 2023.
Read 22 tweets
Sep 28
A regional war in the horn of Africa between many actors

I talked about Sudan🇸🇩, about Somalia🇸🇴, about Ethiopia 🇪🇹 and about South Sudan 🇸🇸. All these conflicts are in fact a larger regional war between local and foreign powers, we can see this map with Sudan

🧵THREAD🧵1/11 ⬇️Image
The war in Sudan is opposing the army led by Al Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by Hemetti.

However this cannot be only seen as a local civil war. Its implications are wider. Same for the Ethiopian, Somalian and South Sudanese conflicts. Image
Image
The SAF allies :

-Turkiye 🇹🇷
-Egypt 🇪🇬
-TPLF (Tigray rebel forces in Ethiopia)🇪🇹
-SPLM-N (South Sudan Nuer rebellion of Machar)
-Iran 🇮🇷
-Qatar 🇶🇦
-Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 (traditionnaly, but with more neutral position currently) Image
Read 11 tweets
Sep 27
En #Ethiopie 🇪🇹, 5 ans de guerre sans couverture médiatique

Oui, la "guerre civile éthiopienne" qui a commencé dans le Tigré en 2020 est toujours en cours, cette fois dans l'Amhara, depuis 2023 entre les rebelles "Fano" et l'armée.

🧵THREAD🧵1/15 ⬇️Image
L'arrivée au pouvoir d'Abyi Ahmed en 2019 coïncide avec la fin de la domination des tigréens, puissant peuple du nord sur les affaires éthiopiennes.

Dès 2020, Addis Abeba lance une opération militaire pour désarmer le TPLF, Front Populaire de Libération du Tigré. Image
L'Ethiopie, c'est une mosaïque de peuples, dont les deux principaux, Amhariens et Oromiens représentent chacun 1/3 de la population. Les tigréens et les afars suivent avec 4% et 7% de la population, avec ensuite une série de peuples plus petits. Image
Read 15 tweets
Sep 25
L'Ukraine 🇺🇦 peut-elle envahir la Transnistrie ?

Ce territoire moldave 🇲🇩 séparatiste depuis 1992 abrite environ 6 000 forces d'actives, dont 1 500 soldats russes 🇷🇺. Une épine dans le pied de l'Ukraine.

Enjeux militaires d'un territoire isolé ⬇️

🧵THREAD🧵1/20⬇️Image
En 2022, lors de l'invasion russe de l'Ukraine, les 49ème et 58èmes armées avaient pour objectif de prendre Kherson, Mykolaiv puis de se joindre aux forces en Transnitrie pour prendre Odessa.

Fin février 2022, les russes sont défaits devant Mykolaiv et tentent de trouver un pont Image
Leur expédition les amènent jusqu'à Voznessensk, premier pont bien plus au nord, dynamité au dernier moment par les ukrainiens.

Isolés et défaits, les russes se retirent entre Kherson et Mykolaiv et abandonnent la jonction avec la Transnitrie. Image
Read 20 tweets

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