Brian Milakovsky

Brian Milakovsky has been working on and writing about economic recovery issues in the Donbas since 2015. He invites readers to follow Donbas Economic Observer on Facebook for English analysis.

Could the West have saved Ukraine’s Donbas?

OPINION: Invaded by Russia in 2014, much of Donbas is now devastated and uninhabitable. Could this have been prevented?

By Brian Milakovsky

/ 24 Apr 2023

Could the West have saved Ukraine’s Donbas?

'We have orders to live here!' Luhansk faces Russia’s ‘soft’ occupation

Collaborate or resist? Patriotism, poverty and self-interest are pulling Luhansk’s people apart

By Brian Milakovsky

/ 17 Aug 2022

'We have orders to live here!' Luhansk faces Russia’s ‘soft’ occupation

Don’t forget Ukraine’s rural Donbas

War has taken its toll on rural areas under Ukrainian government control in Luhansk region. There’s little sign of relief or policy.

By Brian Milakovsky

/ 24 Jul 2018

A frontline factory, an embattled oligarch and Ukraine’s industrial drift

For the future of this chemical plant in eastern Ukraine, trade policy with Russia looms large.

By Brian Milakovsky

/ 2 May 2018

What does the flight of a controversial news editor tell us about press freedom in Ukraine?

After the editor-in-chief of a controversial website flees for Vienna, there’s questions to answer – both for Ukraine’s authorities and the editor.

By Brian Milakovsky

/ 8 Mar 2018

Vesti: Weapon or casualty in the information war?

The search for Russian influence in Ukraine’s media is an important task. But when the mainstream makes little space for inconvenient facts, who ends up losing?

By Brian Milakovsky

/ 19 Oct 2017