Donbas

Russian offensive plans extend beyond Donbas, Zelenskyy says

Russian operational planning for 2026–27 includes new offensives in southern Ukraine, even if Moscow currently lacks reserves to implement them, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on March 2.

2 March, 10:04 PM

Zelenskyy warns Donbas withdrawal would divide and weaken Ukraine

Ukraine’s withdrawal from remaining parts of the Donbas, as demanded by the Kremlin in peace talks, could split society and weaken the country, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, stressing in an interview with the BBC that Donbas is more than just territory on Feb. 23.

23 February, 10:29 AM

Peace talks stall on territorial questions, Zelenskyy admits

The Geneva round of trilateral Ukraine–U.S.–Russia peace talks yielded no progress on key territorial issues, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Feb. 20.

20 February, 09:56 PM

Zelenskyy answers whether he would order Putin’s killing in interview

Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed whether he would order the killing of Vladimir Putin and spoke about assassination attempts against him during the war, in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan on Feb. 19.

19 February, 11:19 AM

Ukraine–Russia peace talks refocus on Donbas demilitarized zone, NYT reports

The most recent round of trilateral Ukraine–U.S.–Russia talks revived the proposal for a demilitarized zone in Donbas, The New York Times reported on Feb. 18, citing three people familiar with the discussions.

19 February, 12:34 AM

Putin prepared to prolong war for two years to control Donbas

Vladimir Putin is prepared to continue the war against Ukraine for up to two more years to secure full control of the Donbas, The New York Times reported, citing military and Western intelligence sources on Feb. 18.

18 February, 05:33 PM

Zelenskyy: Ukrainians will reject deal ceding Donbas to Russia

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thinks the Ukrainian people will reject any peace agreement that requires unilateral withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbas and hands the region to Russia, Zelenskyy said in an interview with Axios on Feb. 17.

17 February, 10:29 PM

Russian troops seize Donbas village, push into three settlements

Russian forces captured the village of Rivne in the Pokrovsk district of Donetsk Oblast and made advances inside the cities of Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad and Rodynske, Ukraine’s DeepState monitoring project reported on Feb. 16.

16 February, 03:03 PM

Ukrainian forces repel Russians near Verbove in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, amid Donbas advances

Ukrainian forces repelled Russian troops near Verbove in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast while Russian advances were recorded near two settlements in Donetsk Oblast, the DeepState monitoring project reported on Feb. 14.

14 February, 03:05 PM

Ukrainian forces smash Russian buildup near Pokrovsk

Ukrainian paratroopers thwarted a renewed Russian attempt to mass troops and equipment in a garage cooperative southeast of Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, eliminating six enemy soldiers, three vehicles and two quad bikes, the 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces reported via Telegram video on Feb. 13.

13 February, 04:31 PM

Russia needs 2 more years to take Donetsk Oblast, experts say

Russian forces would need at least two more years to fully capture Donetsk Oblast at current offensive rates, with the main future battle expected to unfold in Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, co-founders of the DeepStateUA monitoring project Ruslan Mykula and Roman Pohorilyi said during a special session of the Kyiv Security Forum, news agency Ukrinform reported on Feb. 6.

6 February, 08:10 PM

Zelenskyy: No country’s recognition can give away Ukrainian land

Even if some countries recognized Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories as Russian — as Moscow demands — it would change nothing because only Ukraine’s president can sign documents affecting the country’s territory, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a joint news conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Kyiv on Feb. 5.

5 February, 05:56 PM

Kremlin sets new demand to end war against Ukraine

Russia considers international recognition of Donbas as Russian territory to be part of a potential “major peace agreement,” Russia’s state news agency TASS reported, citing an unnamed Western source in Abu Dhabi, where a second round of talks on Ukraine involving Russia and the United States is taking place on Feb. 5.

5 February, 12:02 PM

Zelenskyy: Russia will lose 800,000 troops to seize Donbas

Moscow will have to pay an “extremely high price” in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers to fully seize the Donbas region and the whole of eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with French broadcaster France 2 on Feb. 4.

5 February, 09:05 AM

Ukraine hits Russian command posts, ammo depots – General Staff

Ukrainian Defense Forces struck Russian command posts and ammunition depots on temporarily occupied territories overnight into Feb. 2, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.

2 February, 05:10 PM

Russia hits Slovyansk, killing one, damaging Nova Poshta branch

Russian forces struck Slovyansk in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast with three FAB-250 guided bombs on the morning of Feb. 1, killing a 43-year-old woman from Kramatorsk and damaging 14 apartment buildings, a Nova Poshta delivery branch, a coworking center, three vehicles, and an industrial site, Mayor Vadym Liakh reported.

1 February, 04:37 PM

MFA spokesperson rejects Russia’s Donbas ‘self-determination’ claim

Ukrainian MFA spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi responded to Russia’s “Donbas self-determination” claim, reminding Moscow that the UN General Assembly has already rejected Russia’s illegal seizure of Ukrainian territory, in his post on X on Jan. 30.

30 January, 11:30 AM

US ties Ukraine security guarantees to peace deal ceding Donbas

Washington pushes Ukraine to cede Donbas region as a part of a peace deal with Russia in order to receive U.S. security guarantees, a source familiar with internal discussions told Reuters on Jan. 27.

28 January, 09:16 AM

White House denies FT report on Donbas-for-security guarantees deal

Reports from the Financial Times that the United States would provide Ukraine with security guarantees only if Kyiv ceded the Donbas region are false, Deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly told FT on Jan. 27.

27 January, 02:07 PM

U.S. hints guarantees depend on Ukraine surrendering Donbas — FT

U.S. President Donald Trump administration has signaled to Ukraine that security guarantees will depend on whether Kyiv agrees to a peace deal that includes handing over Donbas to Russia, the Financial Times wrote on Jan. 26.

27 January, 10:23 AM

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