The future of the industrial heart of Ukraine in the east of the country is uncertain, after Vladimir Putin reportedly demanded that it was handed over to Russia during his meeting with Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday.
The Russian leader demanded that the Ukrainian troops withdraw from Donetsk as part of a ceasefire -the Fire Deal, and said that he would be willing to stop fighting on the rest of the front line as KYIV to the requirement and the “basic causes of the conflict” approached.
The Ukrainian president has said that Putin wants to take the remaining 30 percent of the eastern region, which has been the location of some of the brightest fights in the three and a half -year war.
But Losing Donetsk would give Russia control over almost all Donbas, the collective name for the eastern industrial heart of Ukraine, which has long been coveted by Putin.
Earlier this week, Zensky promised that Ukraine would never “leave” the Donbas and warned that Putin could use it as a springboard for a future invasion.
Sources near the meeting, however The independent That the dramatic movement seems to have been approved by Mr Trump as a means to put an end to the war.
While Kyiv is fighting to prevent the Donbas from stopping the so -called “Land Swap” deal from Trump, here is everything you need to know about the region.
Where is the Donbas?
Located along the eastern border of Ukraine, the Donbas takes its Portmanteau name from “Donets Basin”, a further abbreviation for “Donets Coal Basin”, in reference to the coal basin along the Donets Ridge and River.
The Donbas extends over the Oblasts van Donetsk and Luhansk, two large regions of Ukraine that were at the front line of the war that followed the Russian invasion.
How long is it occupied?
The Donbas has been partially occupied by Russia since 2014, around the same time that Putin annexed the Crimean Peninsula. Separatists with Russian -supported separatists broke away from the Ukrainian government to proclaim the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk independent ‘human republics’ and, as a result, Moscow conquered more than a third of the eastern territory of Ukraine.
Russia Klassen inhabitants of the Republic of Krim, Sevastopol, the Luhansk Volks Republic, the Donetsk Volks Republic and the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as subjects of the Russian Federation. Ukraine insists that these areas are part of Ukraine.
It is assumed that about 88 percent of the Donbas are under Russian control. This includes almost all Luhansk region and 75 percent of the Donetsk region, according to Reuters. About 6,600 square km is still controlled by Ukraine, but Russia has the majority of its energy at the front in Donetsk and pushes to the last remaining large cities such as Pokrovsk.
An important strategic region in the war
The hyper-industrialized Donbas economy is dominated by coal extraction and metallurgy. The region has one of the largest coal reserves in Ukraine. When the conflict broke out in 2014, the coal mine companies of Ukraine saw a 22.4 percent decrease in the production of raw coals compared to 2013, according to the KYIV PostShowing the dependence on the country on Donbas as an energy reproduction.
But, just like its economic significance, Donbas has been described as a ‘fortriem’ by the Institute for War as a ‘fortress calling’ in terms of its strategic value. Donetsk forms the most important reinforcement line of defense over the front line and extends through Sloviansk, Kramatensk, Druzhkivka and costiantiannynivka.
“Ukraine holds an important line of defense about Donetsk,” says Elina Bekeketova, a fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, which describes a “reinforced zone structure over the years because the war started 11 years ago”. She adds that Russia has not been able to break through since 2014 and has lost many people there. The entire region is being extracted heavily and Ukrainian troops have been preparing it for years.
“They are not only trenches, it is a deep, layered defense with bunkers, anti-tank locks, minefields and industrial areas built into the site. The area includes dominant heights, rivers and urban zones that make it extremely difficult to catch,” explains Bekeketova.
She says that losing this reinforced line would have “catastrophic consequences” for Ukraine, because it blocks Russian progress in central and western parts of the country. “The front would switch about 80 km west and Russia would get open terrain – flat steppe without natural barriers – so it has a direct path to Kharkiv, Poltava and Dnipro.”
What Zensky has said about the Donbas
Zensky has repeatedly rejected phone calls from Russia to give up the Donbas.
In response to Putin’s request that Ukraine withdrew from East Donetsk, Zensky promised that his people would ‘never’ leave the Donbas and warned that Putin’s troops could use it as a springboard for a future invasion.
“We won’t leave Donbas. We can’t do this. Everyone forgets the first part – our areas are illegally occupied. Donbas for the Russians is a springboard for a future new offensive,” he said.
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