Putin set 15 deadlines for capturing Donetsk region since war began, ISW says
Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
The Russian army has received yet another deadline to capture the Donetsk region in full, despite failing to meet any of the 15 previous Kremlin orders since 2022, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
As the ISW reports, on August 23, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had recently ordered Russian forces to complete the capture of the Donetsk region by December 31, 2026.
According to the Ukrainian leader, Kostiantynivka, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk remain among the Russian leadership’s main operational objectives. All three cities are part of Ukraine’s fortified defensive line known as the Fortress Belt.
However, according to ISW analysts, this is not the first deadline Putin has set. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian leader has set separate deadlines for capturing the entire Donetsk region 15 times. The Russian army has failed to meet any of them.
Russia currently controls around 21,170 square kilometers, or approximately 79.89% of the Donetsk region. In Luhansk region, Russian forces control around 26,624 square kilometers, or approximately 99.77% of the territory.
According to the ISW, the Kremlin’s deadlines remain disconnected from the actual situation on the battlefield. Analysts believe Russian forces are unlikely to capture the entire Donbas by the end of 2026, if they achieve that objective at all.
Earlier, Zelenskyy said that Russia had occupied around 990 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory since the beginning of 2026, while Ukraine’s Defense Forces had liberated approximately 820 square kilometers.
The president said Ukraine expects to close that gap by the end of the year.
In addition, Ukraine’s Armed Forces are conducting active offensive operations in the Oleksandrivka direction. Since the beginning of the year, Ukrainian troops have liberated 26 settlements in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
