Donetsk Oblast: News

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Mr. Putin, where is the gas?

"If you put the Russian authorities in charge of a desert, a sand shortage would break out — and they'd have to import sand from abroad." That's one of the most upvoted comments we found this June, as we monitored thousands of Russian social media groups and communities. Difficult not to agree, we must say — because this June, Russia, of all countries, ran short on gasoline. Throughout the month, Ukraine actively struck Russian oil refineries, fuel depots, and other oil infrastructure faciliti

Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, on June 22, 2026.

About Donetsk Oblast

The Kyiv Independent's news and on-the-ground reporting from Donetsk Oblast, covering 26,517 square kilometers (10,239 square miles) in Ukraine’s East with a pre-war population of approximately 4.1 million. The administrative center is Kramatorsk, as Donetsk city has remained under Russian occupation since 2014. Donetsk Oblast has been the scene of intense fighting, for example, around the cities of Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Vuhledar, as Moscow attempts to capture the entire region.

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