Why Does Putin Want the Donbas?

In Foreign Policy, John Haltiwanger explains Vladimir Putin’s desire to take control of Ukraine’s Donbas region. He writes:

One of Putin’s key justifications for invading Ukraine has centered on the Donbas. Putin, a former KGB officer whose nostalgia for the Soviet era is often on full display, has made the case that the war in Ukraine is part of a justified effort to reclaim Russian lands, and he’s frequently portrayed the Donbas as historically Russian.

In 2022, Putin baselessly claimed that Ukraine was committing genocide against Russian speakers in the region. This echoed prior false claims that Putin made against Georgia, which like Ukraine is a former Soviet republic, regarding South Ossetia before Russia invaded the country in 2008.

Ukraine is a former Soviet republic, and much of it was also formerly part of the Russian Empire—and it’s true that Ukrainians and Russians share many cultural, economic, and historical ties. But Putin has distorted history and facts with many of his claims about the country and people, which experts view as part of a broader effort to erase Ukraine’s nationhood and distinct identity.

Putin’s claim about Russian speakers being persecuted in the Donbas is “garbage propaganda” and an attempt by the Russian president to justify his “decades-long obsession” with “dominating” and “eliminating” Ukraine, William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, told Foreign Policy.

The Donbas is heavily populated by Russian speakers, a product of the region’s close proximity to and historic links with Russia. The region was an important industrial and mining hub for the Soviet Union, resulting in a major influx of Russian workers during the Soviet era—particularly during a period of reconstruction post-World War II.

Read more here.