The region was initially invaded by Russia in 2014, has endured the fiercest fighting since 2022, and Russia now controls most of it. But Kyiv still holds a fortified belt of cities that form the backbone of Ukraine’s eastern defense.
Supporters of a deal argue that time favors Moscow and that painful concessions now could prevent greater losses later. Ukrainian officials and soldiers see it differently. With layered fortifications, drone-saturated killzones, and hundreds of thousands of civilians still at stake, Donetsk Oblast is not just territory — it is the line preventing further Russian expansion.
The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell explains why the Battle of Donbas remains at the center of the peace process.
