Russia once again changes timeline for its occupation of Donetsk Region: Zelenskyy announces new date

The russian leadership has set a new goal for its troops: to completely capture the Donetsk Region by December 31, 2026. At the same time, this deadline is unlikely to be final, as the kremlin has repeatedly pushed back similar deadlines since the start of the full-scale war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated this.

According to the head of state, since the invasion, russia has changed the deadlines for establishing control over the entire Donetsk Region at least 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 noted.

The President recalled that in 2022, the russian leadership changed its plans several times, setting deadlines for March, May, June, September, and December. In 2023, new dates were set—March and December. In 2024, there were also two deadlines, and in 2025, according to Zelenskyy, the kremlin had already set three final dates for the capture of the region.

In 2026, as the President explained, the russian side initially planned to occupy the Donetsk Region by the end of March, then moved the deadline to September 1, and now to December 31.

“If Russia does not end its war, then they will have to postpone this deadline again,” the head of state emphasized.

He also stressed that Ukraine has repeatedly proposed ways to end the war, but the russian side has rejected such initiatives. According to Zelenskyy, the international community must increase pressure on moscow to reduce its desire to continue hostilities.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, putin stated that russia is allegedly ready for negotiations, but only on the basis of the Istanbul agreements, which effectively require Ukraine’s surrender.

On June 25, President Zelenskyy announced that he had approved an operation by the Security Service of Ukraine aimed at forcing russia to make peace and end the war.