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EXPERT COMMENT

Europe should look to history to prepare for the realities of long-term occupation of Ukrainian territory.

The latest US diplomatic push to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine seems to have run aground for now. But important facts have been gleaned about some the intractable gaps between Russian and Ukrainian negotiating positions. 

Among them is control of the Donbas region, which primarily refers to Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Luhansk is nearly entirely occupied by Russia, but Donetsk remains bisected between Russian and Ukrainian armed forces and is the scene of bitter ongoing fighting. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion in February 2022 partly on the pretext of fully capturing the Donbas region – but Russia’s armed forces continue to struggle to achieve that goal, making only incremental gains.

This remains a source of frustration for Putin, who (illegally) declared the annexation of Donetsk and Luhansk in September 2023, along with the other largely Russian-occupied regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. In Donbas, so far, he has been unable to align his words with corresponding military deeds. 

Click here to continue reading the full version of this Expert Comment on the Chatham House website.