Russia's deadline to capture Donbas slips again as military asks for more time, Ukraine says
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Russia has again postponed its deadline to fully capture Ukraine's Donbas, now setting March 31, 2027, as the target date, Deputy Presidential Office head Pavlo Palisa said on Sept. 7.
The new deadline comes as Moscow continues to demand that Ukraine withdraw from the Donbas, which includes the partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, as part of the U.S.-led peace process, rejecting a ceasefire without such concessions.
Russia's political leadership wants to capture the Donbas by the end of 2026, while the military is seeking to extend the deadline to March 31, 2027, Palisa wrote on social media following a military briefing for U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
"Russians have failed to achieve any operational success in Donetsk Oblast," Palisa said. "They have already postponed the deadlines for reaching the oblast's administrative borders 15 times."
Ukraine still controls 21% to 22% of Donetsk Oblast, meaning slightly more than one-fifth of the region remains outside Russian control.
Moscow is effectively demanding that Kyiv surrender territory in a peace deal that Russian forces have failed to capture militarily.
Kyiv privately told the Trump administration that Russia may be unable to capture the remaining Ukrainian-controlled parts of Donetsk Oblast even in 2027, according to a document previously seen by the Kyiv Independent.
Russia's territorial advances have slowed to less than 100 square kilometers (around 40 square miles) per month. At that pace, the document says, Moscow's stated objectives in Donetsk Oblast could be pushed "potentially" beyond 2027.
The Kremlin has already missed several of its own deadlines for capturing the region. Moscow previously aimed to seize Donetsk Oblast and the rest of the Donbas by the end of 2025 and reportedly communicated those intentions to Trump. Despite sustained offensives, Russian forces have failed to achieve a breakthrough.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had also ordered his troops to seize the entirety of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts by March 2023.
