In Donbass, ten years of war and Russification. Donbass remains the scene of bloody trench warfare and resembles a modern, post-Soviet version of the Battle of Verdun.
According to military experts, the Ukrainians are capable of firing 60,000 shells per month against their Russian adversaries. In 1991, 83% of the population of Donbass voted in favor of independence from Ukraine. Predominantly Russian-speaking, in the following years it struggled with the post-communist transition which led to deindustrialization and a severe economic crisis.