War in Ukraine: Why is Donbass at the center of peace negotiations? – 08/22/2025 at 4:40 pm

Vladimir Putin demands that Ukraine gives him the entire Donbass. Furthermore, a rich and heavily forded region. Nevertheless, But to keep the region “in the survival of our country”, Sleon Volodymyr Zelensky. In addition, – War ukraine: why donbass center

It is a region at war since 2014 and the emergence of a separatist movement supported by Moscow. Nevertheless, Donbass. Nevertheless, a vast mining and industrial region in eastern Ukraine, has been at the heart of fighting since the start of the Russian invasion. Therefore, And she is war ukraine: why donbass center now at the center of peace negotiations. Moreover,

Russia claims that Ukraine gives it all of this territory. Moreover, which generally includes the Donetsk and Lougansk regions, Although the Russian army does not control them entirely. Consequently,

kyiv refuses these claims because. Consequently, beyond territorial considerations, This is the best defended portion of the front composed of a belt of fortress cities and hundreds of kilometers of trenches and minefields. For example,

Here is what you need to know about this strategic region:

• What is Donbass? Furthermore,

The Donbass. Moreover, thus called according to the Donets river and its mining basin, is a larger area than Switzerland, which represents 9% of the Ukrainian territory. The region has been at war since 2014, the beginning of a separatist insurgency supported by Russia.

According to war ukraine: why donbass center a 2001 census. six million people lived in this territory, but it is now very complicated to determine how many of them are still there. Donbass is a traditionally Russian -speaking region even if many Ukrain speakers also live there.

According to data from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Russia controls 79% of the Donetsk region, and almost all of that of Lougansk. Ukraine says Russia only controls between 67 and 69% of the Donetsk region. The rest of this territory still under Ukrainian control. and in particular the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, are at the heart of the claims of Moscow.

• Fortification belt

The advance of the Russian troops has already led to the fall of several very fortified cities of the Donbass such as Bakhmout One May 2022. AVDIIVVA in war ukraine: why donbass center February 2024 and Vougledar in October 2024. Their progression now threatens the fortresses of Kostyantynivka et Droujkivka or the logistics node of Pokrovsk .

“Ukraine has spent the last eleven years investing time. money and efforts to strengthen this belt of fortifications,” said the ISW.

Russian troops “have no way to surround. penetrate quickly” These fortifications, and they would take years to achieve them, affirms this institute.

Since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022, Moscow has managed to conquer a third of the Donetsk region. Bloody battles between the Ukrainian army. Russian invasion forces took place in the Donetsk region, notably in Marioupol, Bakhmout and Avdiïvka.

The Donbass also has a particular meaning for the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky: his grandfather. soldier in the Soviet army, fought against the German war ukraine: why donbass center army in 1943, like many Ukrainians.

• Natural resources

The Donbass is historically known for its coal mines. its industry, but it is now other resources that sharpen appetites. The region is rich in gross minerals. as lithium, uranium and titanium as well as rare land, still unexploited in these occupied territories or ravaged by fighting. In May. Washington and kyiv signed an agreement that authorizes the United States to exploit the deposits of rare land and other minerals in Ukraine.

• What future for Donbass?

Abandoning Donbass could prove to be catastrophic for the security of Ukraine, insist Ukrainian experts and officials. This would represent “an open door for a future invasion” of the rest of Ukraine Through Russia. says Andreas Umland, analyst in kyiv at the Stockholm center for studies on Eastern Europe.

According war ukraine: why donbass center to the ISW. the land and the flat landscape on the administrative border of the region are hardly lending themselves to the construction of fortifications.

Yield this area would place Ukraine in “A significantly less defensible position than the current (front) line” adds this institute. and would potentially open the way to the cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv, two important urban centers.

Keep the Donbass “in the survival of our country,” said Volodymyr Zelensky.