Why does Putin want Ukraine’s Donbas region?
Aug 18, 2025•16 min
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Episode description
Russia and Ukraine have been fighting for control of the Donbas for years, and it has seen some of the most intensive fighting during the conflict.
But why is this eastern region of Ukraine, which borders Russia, so important to President Putin?
Tamara Cohen speaks to our security and defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke and our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn, who's in Kyiv, about why this area is so central to a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Producer: Emma Rae Woodhouse
Editor: Wendy Parker
But why is this eastern region of Ukraine, which borders Russia, so important to President Putin?
Tamara Cohen speaks to our security and defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke and our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn, who's in Kyiv, about why this area is so central to a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Producer: Emma Rae Woodhouse
Editor: Wendy Parker
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