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Surkov's dismissal and a day of fighting in Donbas
Summary
A retrospective on 18 February 2020, when the Kremlin removed its adviser on Ukraine as shelling hit Ukrainian positions in the east.
What did 18 February 2020 reveal about Moscow's approach to Ukraine? Two developments stood out, and they pointed in different directions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order dismissing senior adviser Vladislav Surkov. Surkov had been in charge of Kremlin policy on the Ukrainian crisis and of relations with the separatist "people's republics" in the Donbas. The removal of the official who held that brief was a notable personnel change.
On the ground, the morning brought a large-scale attack. Occupation forces struck positions of the Joint Forces near Novotoshkivske, Orikhove, Krymske and Khutir Vilnyi. Ukrainian forces took losses. The day therefore combined a change at the top of Russia's Ukraine policy with continued fighting along the front.
A wider pattern of Russian involvement
Other reports from the days around that date showed Russia active on several fronts. On 16 February 2020, Syrian Army troops, backed by Russian airstrikes, took control of most of the Aleppo countryside, including Anadan, Haritan and Kafr Hamrah and more than 30 villages, amid a collapse in rebel defences. On 18 February 2020, the U.S. State Department added the Russian oil company Rosneft Trading S.A. to its financial blacklist for helping facilitate the sale of Venezuelan oil.
What can be said
The dismissal and the attack on Ukrainian positions occurred on the same day. No link between them was stated. What is clear is that Surkov's departure removed the figure responsible for the Kremlin's Donbas policy while the shelling and assaults continued.
