Staff Reports
The conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas region remains the focal point of Russia’s military ambitions and Ukraine’s resilient defense. Despite Vladimir Putin’s grandiose claims and insistence on seizing full control of the Donbas, Ukrainian forces are holding firm in key strongholds like Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Pokrovsk. This "fortress belt" is heavily fortified with trenches, anti-tank barriers, and minefields, turning the region into a heavily contested line of defense that has blunted Russia’s advances for years.
Russia currently controls about 19% of Ukraine’s territory, including nearly all of Luhansk Oblast and significant parts of Donetsk Oblast. However, Ukrainian troops continue to push back, utilizing innovative tactics such as drone use combined with ground offensives that inflict heavy losses on Russian forces. Putin’s demands for a peace deal surrendering the Donbas are seen by Kyiv and its supporters as an unacceptable capitulation that would betray Ukrainian sovereignty and the spirit of freedom that the people fiercely defend.
Don’t believe Putin’s lies: Russia is not winning in Ukraine
By Jack Keanehttps://t.co/XNrnvLUyLh— Jack Keane (@gen_jackkeane) October 25, 2025
The war in Donbas is not just a territorial dispute but a larger battle of ideologies—freedom versus tyranny, democracy versus autocracy. Putin's attempts to legitimize his invasion through propaganda have been met with staunch resistance by Ukrainians and skepticism globally. Meanwhile, the Western media’s failure to fully acknowledge Ukraine’s successes and the disproportionate focus on Russia’s rhetoric at times reveal a biased narrative that undermines the courage demonstrated daily on the battlefield.
Diplomatic efforts that entertain Putin’s maximalist demands risk rewarding aggression and undermining the principle of self-determination. The Ukrainian people, backed by many in the free world, refuse to be pawns in a game that demands their surrender. The choice is clear: stand with Ukraine’s unyielding defense of liberty or acquiesce to Russia’s imperial ambitions. History will remember which side chose freedom, and it will not favor the appeasers.
In essence, the conflict in Donbas is emblematic of a broader fight for the future of free societies. Putin’s dreams of conquest face an unbreakable will and a spirit that refuses to be crushed. The world must recognize where true strength and justice lie—in the resolute defenders of freedom who refuse to yield to tyranny’s demands.
