Russia sets new deadline to capture all of Donbas

Ukrainian officials have reported that Russian military commanders are requesting the Kremlin to postpone the deadline for capturing all of Donbas from December 31, 2026, to March 31, 2027. Deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Pavlo Palisa, disclosed this during a press conference on August 29. He emphasized that the issue of Donbas remains a significant point in ongoing political discussions.

Palisa stated that Russia's political leadership has mandated its forces to take control of the entire territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions within their administrative limits by the year's end. However, Russia's military leadership sees the deadline as impractical and has petitioned for its postponement to March 31. Palisa also expressed his belief that even this revised date is unrealistic.

Earlier, on May 13, the Financial Times reported that high-ranking Russian military officials had persuaded President Vladimir Putin that Russia's military could seize all of Donbas by fall 2026, after which the Kremlin could impose additional territorial demands on Ukraine. Then, on June 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced another extension of the deadline to December 31, 2026.

Zelenskyy attributed this change to the Kremlin altering such deadlines approximately 15 times since the onset of the full-scale conflict. He asserted that if Russia does not cease hostilities, the deadline will need to be further postponed. Zelenskyy has consistently maintained that Ukraine will not cede its troops from Donbas, suggesting that Russian forces would require at least two more years to fully occupy Donetsk Oblast, resulting in the loss of around 800,000 troops.