Ukrainians do not want to exchange Donetsk for peace

Daria Bondareva, a 28-year-old resident of Donetsk, talks excitedly about the beauty salon she opened two years ago. It is a warm space and always bustling with customers.

She does not want to hand it over, along with her hometown of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, to Russia. Four years since the conflict began, the territory remains a sticking point in US-brokered negotiations. Kiev was asked to give up about 20% of the remaining area in Donetsk that they controlled in exchange for a promise of peace for the country.

“I think Ukraine will never agree to this. I don’t know what will happen to force Ukraine to agree to abandon us,” Bondareva said.

Negotiations on the Ukraine conflict seem to take place every week. The sides have narrowed many disagreements and are now focusing on two core issues: control of Donetsk and security guarantees for post-war Ukraine.

Russia currently controls 46,570 square kilometers in the Donbass region, including the two provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk. The Ukrainian army has completely withdrawn from Lugansk, but still holds a number of important strongholds in Donetsk such as the cities of Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, Kostyantynivka, forming an important part of the “fortress belt” in the east blocking Russia’s advance.

Those urging Kiev to abandon these strongholds argue that Ukraine will eventually lose Donetsk, and should therefore cede the region to end the conflict.

However, President Volodymyr Zelensky on February 20 rejected any possibility of withdrawing troops from Donbass as part of a peace agreement with Russia.

In an interview with BBC On February 23, when asked why Ukraine could not give up the little remaining territory in Donetsk in exchange for a ceasefire, Mr. Zelensky said that this would cause deep division in Ukrainian society.

“I don’t see it as simply a territorial issue. I see it as an act of betrayal, weakening our position, abandoning hundreds of thousands of people living there,” he said.

The President of Ukraine affirmed that his country will not lose and may even win the conflict. He emphasized that Russia will not stop in Donbass and will launch a new attack after a pause.

“Perhaps our withdrawal from Donetsk will satisfy him for a while,” he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “He definitely wants to continue the fight after his recovery period.”

Mr. Zelensky also appeared open to the possibility of compromise, including a proposal to establish a demilitarized zone along the front line in Donetsk, although it is unclear whether Moscow will accept it or not. Opinion polls show that about 40% of Ukrainians are ready to cede Donetsk if Kiev’s allies provide adequate security measures.

But for about 190,000 people living in the region, ceding territory is a painful choice after enduring years of war. They may have to leave their homeland and move elsewhere in Ukraine, or they may stay and live under the new Russian government.

Bondareva said she would stay if the area was monitored by international peacekeepers. But if Russia runs a demilitarized zone there, she will leave.

Sloviansk, the city where she lives, still maintains its vitality even though it is only about 19 kilometers from the front lines. The bowling alley, dance and pilates classes remain open. Coffee shops sprang up everywhere, as did shops selling flowers and balloons for soldiers to buy for their visiting wives or girlfriends.

Kiev calls the frontline cities, including Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, Kostiantynivka and Dobropillia, along with smaller settlements, the “fortress belt”.

New York Times On February 18, citing Western military and intelligence officials, Mr. Putin was willing to continue the war for another two years to fully control the Donbass region. DeepState, a group affiliated with the Ukrainian military specializing in war mapping, also estimates that it will take the Russian army about two years to control the territory that Ukraine still holds in Donetsk at the current pace of advance.

Russia is currently only advancing in small groups, for fear that mobilizing large-scale attack forces will quickly be detected and attacked by drones. These small units applied the “thousand cuts” tactic, mainly to probe the Ukrainian lines to find weak points that could lead to a breakthrough.

“The question is how much time do they have? How many more people are they willing to lose?”, said Colonel Volodymyr Poteshkin, commander of Ukraine’s 10th Brigade.

To block Russia’s advance, Ukraine has placed mines, barbed wire and trenches along the front line up to 19 km deep, and increased the deployment of drones to attack enemy targets.

“Russia’s advance is not unstoppable,” said Lieutenant Colonel Shamil Krutkov, commander of the 93rd Brigade.

Rafila Mirzayeva, a retired nurse, said that after everything they have been through, it is difficult for the people of Donetsk to accept living under Russian management. She herself just narrowly escaped death in an air strike last month.

The explosion also sent debris flying into the bedroom of her 17-year-old niece, who has autism. The girl was not injured, but was later moved to a temporary shelter.

“They should not hand us over like property. That would be a mistake,” Ms. Mirzayeva said about the idea of ​​ceding territory in Donetsk.

Olha Chernikova, a humanitarian aid worker in Sloviansk, admits there are some people in the region who hope Russia wins. She added that many people choose to stay in the Ukrainian-controlled areas of Donetsk because they have nowhere else to go. The monthly allowance for evacuees is not enough for them to rent an apartment.

“Everyone is very tired and can’t do anything but hope we won’t be handed over to Russia,” she said.