Putin’s Ultimatum: Why Ukraine Cannot Abandon Donbas

After negotiations in Alaska between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, several Western media outlets reported on Putin’s ultimatums to end the war.

In particular, the international news agency Reuters published a list of Putin’s demands to Ukraine. According to sources, the Russian dictator’s demands concern the territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions currently held by the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

According to Putin, Ukraine must withdraw its troops from Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia will maintain a frozen front line in the south, including Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. In addition, Moscow is reportedly ready to return small areas of Kharkiv and Sumy regions that it currently controls.

Recently, after he visited China, Putin stated that he is apparently “ready to negotiate an acceptable option” for ending the war in Ukraine. Otherwise, “he will pursue his goals by force of arms.”

“It seems to me that if common sense prevails, it is possible to agree on an acceptable option to end this conflict,” the Russian dictator said.

It is important to note that we are talking about approximately 33% of the Donetsk region territory controlled by the Ukrainian Defense Forces. These are fortified strongholds of the SDF, formed since 2014. In other words, Putin is effectively declaring his desire to take by negotiation what he has been unable to capture over 11 years of war.

In my view, an immediate withdrawal from Donbas carries multiple risks for Ukraine.

One of these risks is that the cities remaining under Ukrainian control in Donbas are industrial centers.

Moreover, the Slovyansk–Kramatorsk agglomeration is home to the main enterprises of heavy metallurgy, processing metallurgy, chemical industries, and more. This area forms the industrial heart of Donbas. In addition, Slovyansk is a site of shale gas deposits.

The goal of the Russians in this case is to prevent Ukraine from solving the issue of energy independence.

Furthermore, the area around Siversk is rich in natural resources. The Yamske deposit contains dolomite, quartz sand, construction sand, chalk, clay, and argillaceous material, all of which have been explored and are actively exploited. These resources make the area particularly attractive to the occupiers.

The Russians will make every effort to take control of all natural resources. In other words, this war is not simply about territory but about control over strategic resources. Ukraine is, in effect, determining its political and economic future—along with its security. The occupiers have already reached the Ukrainian defensive belt.

Security is another crucial factor in Donbas. Establishing a new line of defense outside Donbas would be extremely difficult due to the terrain. This is a steppe zone, making it challenging to maintain control given the enemy’s clear air superiority and numerical advantage in artillery, including barrel and rocket systems. These factors create serious obstacles for establishing a new Ukrainian defensive line along the Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

It is worth recalling that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an interview with Le Point, categorically rejected the idea of abandoning occupied territories such as Donbas or Crimea, arguing that doing so would not bring peace but would only strengthen Russia’s position for further attacks.

“He invaded part of eastern Ukraine in 2014 to use it as a springboard for the full occupation of these regions. If we were to abandon Donbas tomorrow—which will not happen—we would open up an undefended space for Putin next to a city of 1.5 million people, Kharkiv. He would also cease its industrial resources,” Zelenskyy emphasized.