Why the Donetsk region matters as Abu Dhabi peace talks resume

As Russian and Ukrainian negotiators reconvene in Abu Dhabi on Sunday for peace talks organized by the Trump administration, the fate of the Donetsk region remains a core unresolved issue. Russian officials have suggested Moscow will not stop fighting until Ukraine hands over the 2,082 square miles of Donetsk that Kyiv still controls, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio called that question “the one remaining item” in the negotiations; the Kremlin disputed that, with foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov saying other issues, including Western security guarantees for Ukraine, must still be addressed.

Donetsk has been central to Russian state propaganda since the 2014 invasion, the article says, with Moscow portraying the move as saving people in the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial Donbas; Russia has already taken full control of the Luhansk region and in late 2022 announced the annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

The piece of Donetsk Ukraine still holds includes Sloviansk, the city where Moscow began what it called a pro-Russia “separatist” revolt in 2014, and Russian leaders fear losing that city would anger pro-war nationalists and undercut a narrative of victory.

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