VELYKA NOVOSILKA, DONBAS, UKRAINE - MARCH 7: Ukrainian servicemen of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army patrol around the town of Velyka Novosilka, Ukraine March 7, 2023. The frontline around the city of Vuhledar, a strategic rail and road hub south of Bakhmut, resembles an apocalyptic scenario. Destroyed buildings and burned cars are scattered at both sides of the road. There, hidden on basements of abandoned houses, the Ukrainian Volunteer Army hold their positions against relentless attacks by Russian forces. Under the threat of the enemyâs artillery, that echoes through the village, soldiers hold their fortified positions in shifts of 12h. In recent days, they said, they have been able to repel several Russian offensives. (Photo by Ignacio Marin Fernandez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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PUTIN laid his cards on the table when he declared that he wants the whole of Ukraine’s Donbas region in exchange for peace.

The eastern region of Ukraine, known for its “fortress belt,” holds significant value for Putin. Capturing it would be a major gain with potentially deadly implications, and it is a goal he has pursued for more than ten years.

VELYKA NOVOSILKA, DONBAS, UKRAINE - MARCH 7: Ukrainian servicemen of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army patrol around the town of Velyka Novosilka, Ukraine March 7, 2023. The frontline around the city of Vuhledar, a strategic rail and road hub south of Bakhmut, resembles an apocalyptic scenario. Destroyed buildings and burned cars are scattered at both sides of the road. There, hidden on basements of abandoned houses, the Ukrainian Volunteer Army hold their positions against relentless attacks by Russian forces. Under the threat of the enemyâs artillery, that echoes through the village, soldiers hold their fortified positions in shifts of 12h. In recent days, they said, they have been able to repel several Russian offensives. (Photo by Ignacio Marin Fernandez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
A member of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army patrol around the town of Velyka NovosilkCredit: Getty
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks as he attends a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured), to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine, in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Putin said he would freeze the entire frontline if Ukraine handed over the last remaining section of the DonbasCredit: Reuters
Ukrainian emergency services firefighter extinguishing a fire at a damaged warehouse.
Fighting in raging on the frontline in Donetsk – which has seen unrest now for 11 yearsCredit: Getty

Since invading in 2022, Russia has overrun almost the entire Donbas – comprised of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

But one corner of the Donetsk region remains clinging on.

The frontline there accounts for just a fraction of the whole conflict, but suddenly the last remaining sliver of land has been thrust to the heart of the peace conversation.

At last week’s Alaska summit, Putin declared he would freeze the frontline if Ukraine handed over the last remaining enclave of the Donbas.

But Kyiv has consistently rejected the idea of releasing any territory it currently holds – creating a major sticking point in the negotiations.

But why is Putin so obsessed by this particular patch?

The Donbas is Ukraine’s industrial powerhouse and holds rich reserves of coal and metal underground.

By taking it all Russia would totally suffocate the vital supply of those fossil fuels to Ukraine.

The Donbas is also a crucial strategic location in the conflict.

It is a gateway guarding the central heartland of Ukraine – built around Ukraine “fortress belt”.

Moment warped Russian soldiers taunt Ukraine by flying an AMERICAN flag into battle ahead of crunch Zelensky-Trump talks

This refers to a run of fiercely-defenced towns and cities which Russia has so far failed to undo.

The valley around the Kazenyi Torets river, which runs through the unconquered region, has been fortified into a defensive stronghold.

Over more than a decade, defensive lines have been embedded into the terrain and the slopes measured up for artillery ranges.

Ukraine’s army knows every inch of the land – hence the Russians have been unable to penetrate it.

Zelensky and Trump shaking hands at a meeting.
Zelensky, who met Trump in the White House on Monday, has vowed not to give over any more land to RussiaCredit: AFP
Presidents Trump and Putin at a summit.
In last week’s Alaska summit, Putin made the Donbas region a key bargaining chipCredit: Getty

With the Donbas out of the way, Putin’s ranks would find it much easier to storm through and take large swathes of central Ukraine in any future attacks.

The region also holds a very particular history which means Russia feels a particular claim to it.

It has long been one of the most Russian speaking parts of Ukraine, and political loyalties there have sometimes landed in favour of Russia.

Donetsk was the home and main power base of Viktor Yanukovych – Ukraine’s former president loyal to the Kremlin.

Yanukovych was toppled in 2014 and it was in the aftermath of this when Russia seized Crimea.

Unrest raged for the next eight years, with a separatist movement fuelled by Russian guns.

Burning house in Kramatorsk, Ukraine.
Strikes on Ukraine continued even as Zelensky and EU leaders sat down with Trump in WashingtonCredit: Getty
A person walks past a destroyed school in Bakhmut, Ukraine.
A school in the Donbas destroyed school after a strike in the city of BakhmutCredit: AFP

Even though the people of the Donbas firmly backed Zelensky in 2019 votes, Putin used the protection of its residents as a key justification for his so-called special military operation.

He recognized two breakaway territories — the self-declared “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic” — before launching his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

This thin excuse was debunked within hours when the marauding Russians advanced far beyond its boundaries.

While the remaining piece of land demanded by Putin may be small, the future of a vast area would be destabilised if it falls into Russian hands.

A former high-ranking Kremlin official previously warned: “Putin has acted opportunistically; when he launched the invasion he had no fixed territorial limits in mind.

“His appetite grows once he’s tasted success.”

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