Donbas Remains Central Obstacle to Ukraine Peace After Alaska Summit

The recent Alaska summit has underscored the intractable nature of the conflict over Ukraine’s Donbas region, solidifying its status as the primary sticking point in ongoing peace negotiations. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly made full control of Donbas – Ukraine’s industrial heartland in the east – a core condition for ending hostilities.

Sources briefed on the high-level discussions indicate that Putin demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donetsk and Luhansk, the two regions comprising Donbas, in exchange for a freeze along the remaining frontlines. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has consistently rejected ceding any territory under Kyiv’s control, a stance strongly supported by the Ukrainian populace, with approximately 75% opposing any land concessions to Russia, according to recent polling.

Russia’s strategic focus on Donbas dates back to 2014, when Moscow began supporting separatist proxies, a campaign that escalated into the full-scale invasion of 2022. Currently, Russian forces occupy approximately 88% of the region, including all of Luhansk and a significant portion of Donetsk. Despite this, Ukraine continues to defend crucial cities and fortified positions within Donetsk, a defense that has come at immense human cost. The fate of Donbas, where more than 250,000 civilians reside in Ukrainian-held areas, remains the defining faultline preventing a resolution to the ongoing conflict.

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