War in Ukraine: “The survival of our country” is: the importance of the fortified cities of Donbass

Donbass, a vast mining and industrial region in eastern Ukraine, has been at the heart of fighting since the start of the Russian invasion. For example, She is now also at the center of negotiations led by Washington.

Russia claims that Ukraine gives it the entire territory. Nevertheless, which generally includes the regions of Donetsk and Lougansk, although the Russian army does not control them entirely.

kyiv refuses these claims. Consequently, because, beyond territorial considerations, it war ukraine: “the survival our is the best defended portion of the front, composed of a belt of the trainers and hundreds of kilometers of trenches and mines fields.

Larger zone than Switzerland – War ukraine: "the survival our

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

According to a 2001 census. Meanwhile, six million people lived in this territory, but it is now very complicated to determine how many of them are still there. Meanwhile, 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. especially the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, are at the heart of the claims of Moscow.

Fortifications

The advance of Russian troops has already led to the fall of several very fortified cities in Donbass. such as Bakhmout in May 2022, Avdïvka in February 2024 and Vougledar in October 2024. Their progression now threatens the fortresses of Kostyantynivka and Droujkivka or the Pokrovsk logistics node.

“Ukraine has spent the last eleven years investing time. money and efforts to strengthen this belt of fortifications,” explains the ISW. Russian troops “have no way of surrounding. penetrating these fortifications quickly, and they would take years to achieve this, affirms this institute.

Since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022, Moscow has managed to conquer a third of war ukraine: “the survival our 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 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. such as lithium, uranium and titanium, as well as rare land, still unexploited in these territories occupied 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.

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

According 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 position that is significantly less defensible than the line [de front] Current. ”adds this institute, and would potentially open the way to the cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv, two important urban centers. Keep the Donbass “in va from the survival of our country”, summed up Volodymyr Zelensky.