Sachs claims that Minsk II was not observed, but he fails to note that it was not observed largely due to Russian (not "DPR", "LPR" or "separatist" - these are not independent bodies by any stretch of the imagination) attacks on Ukrainian forces that made it impossible to withdraw heavy weaponry from the area. Not that the Ukrainians were completely innocent, but the Russians were the only party that benefitted from Ukraine remaining destabilized because of the conflict continuing. The invasion of Ukraine in 2014 was carried out based on the same script carried out earlier in Moldova and Georgia, and this war is just a continuation of Putin's war of (re)conquest.