Putin told White House he plans to seize Donbas by end of 2025, Zelensky says
Russian President Vladimir Putin told the White House and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff that he intends to occupy Ukraine's eastern Donbas region by the end of 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with ABC News published on Sept. 9.
"That is, he (Putin) says that in three to four months, and this is what he told the Americans, the White House, and President Trump's representative Witkoff, he said that he would take Donbas in two to three months, maximum four months," Zelensky said.
Donbas is the eastern region comprising Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Russia invaded Donbas in 2014 before launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Ukrainian leader warned that Moscow's plans could cost "years and a million people," or even "two or three million corpses" if Russia accelerates its offensive.
The remarks come as earlier reporting indicated Putin demanded that Ukraine cede Donbas as a precondition for peace. In return, Moscow would freeze the war along the current front lines.
A source in the Ukrainian Presidential Office earlier told the Kyiv Independent that Moscow's proposal would require Kyiv to withdraw from the Ukrainian-controlled parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in exchange for Russia pulling back from parts of Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts.
The Kremlin has not publicly confirmed such a plan.
Russia's maximalist demands include full control of four Ukrainian regions it only partially occupies — the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Putin has also pushed for a ban on Ukraine's NATO membership.
According to Reuters' sources, Putin believes his army is "winning" on the battlefield, despite Russia taking less than 1% of additional Ukrainian territory since November 2022.
Zelensky said on Aug. 20 that it would take Russia another four years to fully seize Donbas.
Since returning to office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to broker a swift peace deal, but talks have stalled as Moscow continues to reject a ceasefire and push for territorial concessions.
Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, followed by parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in 2022 after holding sham referenda.
