Inside Donbas, Ukraine’s industrial powerhouse and the area that Putin wants in exchange for peace

Inside Donbas, Ukraine’s industrial powerhouse and the area that Putin wants in exchange for peace

As Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy heads to Washington, all eyes turn to Donbas, a contested region in Ukraine. Why? Vladimir Putin has demanded this area in exchange for peace in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. But what makes this stretch of land so significant to the Russian leader?

A man walks on a muddy road in the Donbas region. The future of Ukraine’s industrial heartland in the east of the country is uncertain, after Vladimir Putin reportedly demanded it be handed to Russia. File image/AFP