We get an update on the Donbas region of Ukraine, where Russian forces are now focused. Russia has backed a separatist movement in the Donbas since 2014 and used protecting the Russian-speaking population there as a justification for its invasion in February. We speak with Brian Milakovsky, who lived in the Donbas town of Severodonetsk before he evacuated to Croatia in January and is now fundraising for people trying to flee Russian attacks. The Russian obsession with annexing the Donbas region is part of a “fanatical belief that the East really must be actually a part of Russia,” says Milakovsky. “They’re leveling these cities,” and “it’s not really clear for what purpose except for bolstering their own narrative,” he adds.

This post was originally published on Democracy Now!.