Zelenskyy: Russia's Political Leadership Is Constantly Obsessed With Donbas

The President of Ukraine listed all the deadlines Russia had set for the seizure of Donbas and announced a new one.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in an evening address on June 29 that, since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russian leadership has already postponed the deadline for the complete capture of the Donetsk region 15 times. A new deadline has now been set, but the Ukrainian leader also deemed it unachievable.

“Since the start of the full-scale war, the Russian army has set deadlines for the capture of our Donetsk Oblast 15 times. Russia’s political leadership is constantly obsessed with the Donbas. They’ve had this delusion 15 times already—as if they were going to completely capture the Donbas,” Zelenskyy said.

According to him, in 2022, Russian authorities set deadlines for the capture of Donbas five times: by March 31, May 9, June 1, September 15, and December 31. In 2023, two dates were mentioned—March 1 and December 31—and in 2024, two more.

“In 2025, when the Russians were trying to convince President [U.S.] President Trump that Ukraine would supposedly fall, there were already three deadlines—the final dates for the capture of the Donetsk region: by September 1, by December 1, and by December 25. And already this year, the Russians have again postponed the date for the capture of the Donetsk region. First, they had a deadline of March 31 of this year, then September 1, and now the deadline has been set for December 31,” Zelenskyy said.

He added that if Russia continues the war, this deadline will also have to be pushed back.

“If Putin wants to sacrifice another million of his soldiers to keep banging their heads against this wall, then the million Russians who haven’t yet been mobilized into the Russian army and are arguing in gas lines should think about what lies ahead for them,” — said the Ukrainian leader.

The politician emphasized that Ukraine has already presented “all the proposals” necessary to end the war, but Russia rejects them every time.

“Just yesterday, Russia once again made clear its desire to continue fighting. This means we must create as many obstacles as possible to thwart this desire to continue the war,” Zelenskyy concluded.

As a reminder, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated yesterday that Russia would not agree to proposals to limit hostilities to four partially occupied regions of Ukraine and to refrain from strikes deep into the territories of both countries. According to him, the main objective of the Russian army remains the “final liberation of Donbas and Novorossiya,” while in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions, Russian troops continue to establish a “security zone.”

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