Also where most of the energy reserves lie
Any wonder why the globalists have taken such a high interest in controlling Ukrainian politics
“Also where most of the energy reserves lie”
It is also the heavy industrial heartland of the Ukraine, as well as a major coal mining area.
Western Ukraine is much more agricultural, Catholic, and Ukrainian speaking, with long historical ties to Poland.
Demography is destiny, as they say. In this case, not only is the ethnic Russian population high (about half), and the ethnic Ukrainian population been reduced during the war, but language has played a big role in this region as well. About half of the ethnic Ukrainians in the Donbass (DONetz River BASin) speak Russian as their first language.
They will probably end up in Russia because of it.