Russia would take 4 years to fully occupy Donbas, Zelensky says
It would take Russia another four years to fully occupy the Donbas region, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a meeting with journalists on Aug. 21.
Russia invaded Donbas in 2014 before launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Donbas is the eastern region comprising Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts that Russia now wants Ukraine to surrender, even though Moscow doesn't fully control it.
According to Zelensky, after four years of full-scale war, Russia has occupied approximately one-third of Donetsk Oblast, currently controlling 67 to 69% of the region.
"I explained to (U.S. President Donald Trump) that the talks about them (Russia) occupying our Donbas by the end of (2025) are all just chatter," said Zelensky.
The Ukrainian president believes that Russia insists on the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbas as a key condition of a peace deal in order to declare it a "victory" in the full-scale war.
"I think this is something they made up as a victory — something they want to sell to their own people," he said.
Zelensky denied reports claiming that during his meeting with Trump he allegedly did not outright reject the idea of a land swap with Russia. Zelensky reiterated that he is willing to discuss territorial issues directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a potential face-to-face meeting.
Based on other reports, including one by the Kyiv Independent, Putin has agreed to withdraw Russian troops from small parts of Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts in exchange for Ukraine withdrawing from Donetsk and Lihansk oblasts.
Zelensky told journalists that Russia will not be able to hold on to the small areas of Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts currently under occupation and that Russian troops will eventually be driven out.
"Regarding all our temporarily occupied territories, I want to emphasize once again that legally we do not recognize the occupation," he added.
