Let me bring to your attention this [0]; there are very few places online (that I know of) that have the sort of analysis presented on this blog (granted, World Affairs is published by a USA-based company, but bear in mind that the journal is almost 200 years old, its editor is intimately familiar with Eastern Europe and its post-Soviet democratization, is a publication of a pacifist organization, and is a 501(c)3 organization; what I am trying to say is that there is some pedigree here and the quality of the comments is immensely refreshing).

The bulk of this additional material reflects the OP’s submission [1], while [2] highlights the issue from a related angle. As for the organization that published this article (The Black Sea), I think that they do not deserve the pessimism [3]. They have a reputation for publishing high-quality, investigative pieces on topics that several major organizations would not touch.

[0]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Affairs_Institute; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Affairs; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_S._Denton

Tax returns: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/271...

[1]

(January 2014; about this time, talk of a civil war was already becoming heated)

Standoff in Ukraine: Mafia Regime vs. Mobilized Citizens (http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/alexander-j-motyl/st...

(February 2014; in this article, the author concedes that war might break out due to the division between East and West Ukraine)

Should There Be One Ukraine? (http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/alexander-j-motyl/sh...)

(April 2014, predates Russia’s decisive intervention in the Donbass by a couple of days)

Could Russia Occupy Ukraine? (http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/alexander-j-motyl/co...)

(June 2015; the comments are a gold mine)

On Donbas Autonomy—Again (http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/alexander-j-motyl/do...

(February 2016; Motyl formalizes his argument against re-integration)

Why Reintegrating the Donbas Is Suicide for Ukraine (http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/alexander-j-motyl/wh...)

(May 2016; a case for disengaging from the Donbass)

Answering the Critics: Donbas Disengagement (http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/alexander-j-motyl/an...)

(June 2016; even greater clarity)

A Donbas Strategy Going Forward (http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/alexander-j-motyl/do...)

[2]

Does Anyone Want Ukraine’s Donbass? (http://imrussia.org/en/analysis/world/2406-does-anyone-want-...

[published by the the New York-based Institute of Modern Russia, IMR, whose president is the son to the former Russian political prisoner and exile Mikhail Khodorkovsky and, by virtue of this association, would be despised by Russian authorities as “unpatriotic” and partisan; IMR’s tax returns are here (https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/611...]

(2016 report; PDF at the bottom of the summary)

Doing business in Donbas: what are the main obstacles? (http://www.ua.undp.org/content/ukraine/en/home/presscenter/a...)

[3]
(Here, the organization is upfront about its manifesto; tellingly, the organizations was Wikileaks’ sole publishing partner in Europe; also they closely coordinate with the widely respected International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, invite journalists that have been censored by their employees to pitch them, and cover taboo and under-reported stories)

Diving Deep Into Stories (http://theblacksea.eu/index.php?idT=88&idC=88&idRec=1105&rec...)

(They have won numerous awards; certainly that counts for something)

Mission (http://theblacksea.eu/?idT=3&idC=3)

(The organization is funded by Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation Initiatives as part of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, GMF. Firstly, there is a difference between the Marshall Plan and GMF; a quick Wikipedia search will suffice. The thing is GMF has funded 100s of projects since its formation, given 1000s of scholarships and grants, and is notable for its involvement in civil society i.e. soft power advocacy. A search of the term “grant” on its homepage <<http://www.gmfus.org/search/grant>> brings up several of its other initiatives. The Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation is a multi-stakeholder initiative and funded TheBlackSea.eu as part of a cross-border project run by Journalismfund.eu to improve journalism quality. Frankly, these guys do not deserve the conspiratorial skepticism)

Launch of the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation (http://trends.gmfus.org/doc/BST%20Launch%20Program.pdf)

Working grant - Ghosts of Sochi (http://journalismfund.eu/ghostsofsochi)

Working grant - Land Grabbing in the EU: How Rabobank is profiting off theft and abuse in Romania (http://journalismfund.eu/landgrabbing)

Working grant - The Gold Trail (http://journalismfund.eu/gold-trail)