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Does the Russian army need all of Donetsk?
One of the main news stories from the recent summit in Alaska is that Russian President Vladimir Putin is signaling a willingness to freeze the war in Ukraine along the current front line, provided that Kiev surrenders the remaining part of the Donetsk region. The proposal, unacceptable to Ukraine, sheds light on the strategic and political weight of this area that has been the epicenter of the conflict for more than a decade.
Currently, Russia controls about 70% of the territory of Donetsk, including the regional capital of the same name. However, Ukraine continues to control about 6,600 square kilometers in the western part, where about 250,000 people still live. The cities of Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka remain strong blocks of Ukrainian defense.
The area is part of the industrial Donbass, a region once rich in natural resources and heavy industry but now devastated by war. However, for Kiev, Donetsk's importance is not only economic, but above all military.
According to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukraine has spent over a decade building what it calls a “belt of fortifications” west of Donetsk – a 50km-long line of trenches, bunkers, minefields and anti-tank obstacles. This has become a bastion of survival, making it very difficult for the Russians to advance further into the country.
On the ground, topography plays an equally crucial role. The city of Donetsk is located on a high ground, which gives Russia a huge advantage for observation and artillery coordination. Meanwhile, Ukraine relies on Chasiv Yar, one of the last high points it controls. Its loss would seriously weaken the Ukrainian defenses.
For Russia, taking all of Donetsk would solidify its (internationally unrecognized) claim to the region and spare it further military losses. For Ukraine, surrendering the territory would be a double blow: the loss of land and a key barrier against any future Russian offensive into the country's interior.
Military analysts suspect that even if Ukraine were forced to withdraw, rebuilding a new defense line further west would be very difficult, both due to the more unfavorable terrain and the time and logistical costs.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has made it clear that he will not accept any deal that requires the surrender of Donbas. He warns that such a deal would only serve as a “temporary respite” for Moscow to regroup and launch new attacks in the future.
In this context, Donetsk is not just a piece of land: it is Ukraine's first line of defense, a barrier that determines not only the fate of the current war, but also the security of the entire state in the years to come. /Adapted from "Pamphlet" by "BBC"
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