Information about Donbass, a region of Donetsk and Lugansk regions, was mentioned by President Vladimir Putin in an interview published on December 4.
Either we take these territories by force, or the Ukrainian army must leave, Putin told India Today before his visit to New Delhi.
Russia now controls about 19.2% of Ukraine, including Crimea (incorporated in 2014), the entire Lugansk region, more than 80% of Donetsk, about 75% of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, and a small part of the regions of Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk.
About 5,000km2 of Donetsk is still under Ukrainian control.
In discussions with the US on a draft peace agreement to end the conflict, Russia has repeatedly affirmed its desire to control all of Donbass, and at the same time suggested that the US informally recognize Russia's control there.
In 2022, Russia announced the merger of Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions after referends.
On December 2, President Putin received two US special advisers, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, at the Kremlin. He said Russia had accepted some US proposals related to Ukraine, and discussions should continue.
RIA quoted Mr. Putin as saying that the meeting with special agents Witkoff and Kushner was very useful. He added that these proposals are based on the content he discussed with President Donald Trump in Alaska in August.
