Ukrainian Ground Forces / Telegram
Ukrainian negotiators suggested naming the bit of Donbas
that Russia is trying
to conquer after U.S. President Donald Trump, calling it “Donnyland,” The
New York Times reported
on April 21.
“In Ukraine peace talks in recent months, Ukrainian
officials have suggested that the slice of the country’s Donbas region that
Russia is still fighting for could be named ‘Donnyland,” the report said,
citing four unnamed people familiar with the matter.
“When a Ukrainian negotiator first mentioned the term,
partly in jest, it was as part of an attempt to convince the Trump
administration to push back more against Russia’s territorial demands,
according to three of the people familiar with the talks.”
The proposal illustrates how some governments have tried to
flatter Trump to secure Washington’s backing, the Times said. But, according to
the report, the idea has so far produced no formal outcome: “Donnyland” does
not yet appear in any official documents.
The area itself, about 50 miles long and 40 miles wide,
remains a major sticking point in the talks, the newspaper said.
Ukrainian officials estimate roughly 190,000 people live in
the parts of Donbas the Kremlin wants. Other people close to the negotiations
told the Times the true number could be roughly half that. The area is so near
the front line that the main highway leading to it has been fitted with nets to
protect against Russian drones, the paper reported.
Ukraine insists it can defend the territory and will not
cede it. Still, the Times reported, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in December
2025 signaled a willingness to consider compromises such as a demilitarized
zone or a free economic zone not fully controlled by either side.
“But the talks stalled in late February on the territorial
issue, just as the Iran war distracted the U.S. negotiating team,” the NYT
noted.
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