Strategic and Economic Stakes of the Donbas Region for Ukraine and Russia

The question is rather whether Germany, France and the UK will send at least 100,000 soldiers each to the Ukrainian front to help Ukraine and allow Ukrainians to rest.

Ukraine I would say. If Putin doesn’t capture it it’s over for him. But it will be interesting to see if the next in charge in Russia would still pursue it, even after the total disaster it has been to try and get it in the first place.

Russia has overtaken Ukraine in the use of neural networks in UAVs. This was stated by the adviser to the President of Ukraine Sergei Beskrestnov in an interview with Ukrainian media.

According to him, the Russian army already has autonomous drones controlled by artificial intelligence: V2U and the new Molniya.

"I think it's only a matter of time before their Shaheds start using artificial intelligence and neural networks to recognize targets," he said in an interview with a Ukrainian media outlet.

He also believes that sooner or later, electronic warfare will cover the entire territory of Russia, and navigation via satellite signals within its territory will become impossible.

"Russia is already working on autonomous flight and autonomous target acquisition. They already have these Molniyas. When I open their data (unfortunately, most of it is encrypted), I see the names of objects the neural network is already working with: for example, a tank, a car, a railroad, a locomotive. So, they already have a neural network trained to search for and attack the desired target: what a train looks like, what a Nova Poshta [new mail] looks like. So, you can take an attack UAV, send it autonomously to another territory, and it doesn't need anything else. It doesn't need satellite navigation signals because it sees the image and navigates to it independently. It doesn't need to be given a specific target—you can simply say, 'Look for a railroad, move along it, sooner or later you'll find a train, and you need to attack the first element in the train—the locomotive,'" he said, describing the drone control algorithm.

Beskrestnov added that AI is already capable of recognizing soldiers by the presence of weapons, and he has seen similar models used by Russians. Ukraine, however, has not yet adopted this technology on a large scale.

"The Russians have surpassed us in the technology of using neural networks directly onboard UAVs. For example, they have a Jetson Nano running the YOLO version 5 neural network—a fairly old model, but it handles visual object recognition well. They've apparently been training this neural network for several years now. Take, for example, the V2U drone, which has a fast drive. Previously, it was 128 GB, but now we see 2, 3, and sometimes even 4 TB. This means the capacity of the neural network models they operate is constantly growing," the presidential adviser said.

Well they should fight harder whomever win the war they can have it all they have to do is fight more harder for next four years that's all

It seems like all this constant flow and repeated coverage is because they believe the remaining 20 percent of Donbas falling is almost a foregone conclusion. With Russian advances making it seem settled, that’s why outlets like DW keep returning to the topic, revisiting the implications and what the end of that territory might mean. At the same time, there is a noticeable tendency to downplay Donbas’s importance, almost smoothing the story toward what they see as an inevitable outcome.

"Donbas was not strategically important anyways." 😂

I have followed the War religiously since the start. This is one of the very best videos I've seen. Thank you, DW.

Russia tends to have a fetish for capturing territory that's all rubble, and then acting all glorious and mighty.

There’s no guarantee that Putin would stop even if Ukraine surrendered the Donbas. Ukraine has every reason to believe that giving up territory could only embolden further aggression. At this point, they may feel they have no choice but to keep fighting to the bitter end.

The number of Russian Shahed drones shot down in Ukraine is falling. This follows from data from the Shahed Tracker resource.

In August, the Defense Forces intercepted 83% of Shahid drones. During the last month of summer, the Russians launched 5,155 such drones at Ukraine, and the Air Force reported intercepting 4,288 UAVs. Another 867 drones were shot down.

For comparison: in May the interception rate reached 92%, in June – 90%, in July – 87%.

This is probably due to the increased use of the reactive modification of Geranium.

Yesterday, The New York Times reported that these jet-powered drones are harder to shoot down than conventional propeller-powered ones . In its article, the newspaper cited statistics from presidential adviser Sergei Beskrestnov, according to which 1,500 Russian jet-powered UAVs were recorded attacking Ukraine in July, and 3,000 in August.

As a reminder, Ukrainian manufacturers have not yet been able to create effective drone interceptors for the Shahed jets and the Banderol small-sized cruise missile .

2:20 "… ousted the pro-Russian president. That's when Russia swept in". The president wasn't pro-Russian, he was neutral, and Russia didn't "swept in" immediately after the EU- and US-led coup. First, Kyiv shelled disloyal eastern Ukraine, sparking a civil war. Russia "swept in" only months later

Donbas in only one key. No NATO in Ukraine is the master lock.

Once the AfD is in power in Germany , the Donbas will be on the table if Ukraine wants German continued support.

Gentle Reminder, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has received donations from major US defense industry companies, including General Dynamics, Raytheon, CACI, Boeing,and DynCorp.

ISW is a major Contributor of content and analysis to all the major Main Stream Media Outlets such as broadcast/streaming news, newspapers , and their affiliated podcasts . The implications are obvious and requires us all to note President Eisenhower’s warning about the US Defense Industrial Complex.

These companies play a significant role in funding ISW's research and analysis on military operations and foreign affairs, helping to shape national security discussions.

So Ukraine is winning again.

Master, you know you are lying to your audience, is true that Russia is about seven km from Sloviyansk or not? your authority, Zelensky said Pakrosk is still under Ukraine but now in your report you admit it is under Russia, you are repeating the same lie aagain about Kostantinivka, but you know that the caravan has already moved on over that city. your continuies lies would one day catch up with all of you.

This video is outdated Konstantinovka is already taken from Ukraine. The fortress belt is falling apart.

The number of first-graders in Ukraine continues to decline. This year, more than 243,000 children entered school.

The Ministry of Education reported this.

This is almost half the number of first-graders in the 2018/2019 school year, when there were approximately 455,000. In 2025, there were approximately 252,000.

The Ministry of Education and Science attributes this trend to declining birth rates and the emigration of families with children abroad due to the war. Currently, approximately 315,000 Ukrainian children are studying abroad.

Ukrainian economist Oleksiy Kushch commented on the sharp decline in the number of first-graders, declaring a demographic catastrophe in Ukraine.

Kushch believes that the problem is not only the decrease in the number of children, but also the simultaneous decline in the fertility rate – from approximately 1.5 to 0.9.

According to his calculations, given the demographic indicators of the early 2010s, a generation of approximately 13 million people would be formed in Ukraine over the next 30 years. About half of these would be women, who, with a fertility rate of approximately 1.5, could give birth to over 10 million children. The population in this model would also decline, but at a significantly slower rate.

At current rates, Kushch believes, within 30 years the new generation will number around 7 million people. Approximately 3.5 million women in this generation, given the current birth rate, will be able to give birth to fewer than 3 million children. The next generation will be even smaller—the number of births could drop to around a million.

"Do you understand the depth of the demographic catastrophe?" the economist writes on Facebook.

Actua;lly the maps the public uses is not accurate. Ukraine is in a better position

The NE kharkiv cauldron is expanding and 2000 AFU soldiers are trapped inside the pocket.

Not to ignore the fact that forgotten Sumy war frontline is also close in on city of Sumy only less than 35 kms from the frontline now.

over the past 2 months, Russia is losing 40,000 per month. 40k x 12 = 360,000,

Sorry folks. This issue was already in the U.N General Assembly before the war, and technically it's native Russian territory. People were slaughtered there became they spoke Russian? That was before Russia invaded if anyone remembers?

No rewards for Russian aggression

Russia could expand its strikes to Ukraine’s entire airfield infrastructure, including civilian airports, if Kyiv attempts to carry out its threats against Russian civilian aviation.

Russian forces are currently striking around 20 Ukrainian military airfields while deliberately avoiding civilian airports. That restraint would continue only as long as Kyiv’s threats did not turn into action.

If the situation escalates, Russia’s response could be devastating and could go as far as the complete destruction of Ukraine’s airfield infrastructure. If military necessity arises, Russia would strike both military and civilian aviation facilities.

Threats to block Russian airspace is unrealistic. Given the sheer size of the country, physically closing its airspace would be impossible. Such an attempt is like trying to spread ten grams of butter over an entire loaf of bread. Russian military pilots are prepared to act preemptively and respond forcefully to any potential provocations.

Any attempt to carry out threats against Russian civilian aviation would be treated as an act of state terrorism and would have corresponding consequences.

Russia will take whole Donbass no matter what whether we like it or not

Moscow Delenda Es. We will have to deploy.

No human life is worth sacrificing. Human life must be preserved at all costs.

😂😅 seriously, claiming Russia lost 30k soldier a month is kind of bs, where is the video? Any video ukraine attack cost 1000 russian even for a day?

DW, why do you let AI driven Russian bots take over your comment section. Either you should deal with this or you should cut it off. This completely defeats your purpose as a newscaster!!!!! What is going on? This is so unprofessional and self defeating!!!

Give Putin have of Ukraine, then the Germans will take the other half.

It seems the citizens of Ukraine were happy to elect a clown, they are both criminals, the world pays, people die while they get richer…

Narratives

The Donbass is now Russian annexed territory. Odessa is the key to landlocking Ukraine.

No hay ninguna concesión a un país invasor . NINGUNA . O a partir de aquí cualquier país es susceptible de ser invadido por cualquier aprendiz de emperador , llámese putin ,trump. Ucrania unida . 1991.

If Kosovo was crucial for NATO to start the war with Serbia, then Donbas can be crucial for the end of the war in Ukraine.

Russia do not want NATO in Ukraine on there borders.People on the Donbas have been burned shelled by Ukrainian troops since 2014…..

Germany was supposed to guarantee the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
It didn't.
Frau Angela said it was all a pretend play

Russian forces carried out overnight strikes across Ukraine on September 4, targeting ports, warehouses, a military airfield, energy facilities and Ukrainian military positions.

Southern Ukraine was once again one of the main areas targeted. Jet-powered Geran drones struck port infrastructure in Odesa and Chornomorsk, as well as vessels that, according to the source, are used to support Kyiv’s military and economic interests. FAB glide bombs equipped with UMPK guidance kits and Banderol missiles were also used against targets in the south. The growing number of such strikes indicates that Russia is stepping up its use of aerial bombs against targets in southern Ukraine.

In the Kirovohrad region, strikes were reported on a military airfield, fuel and energy facilities, and warehouses storing military equipment and supplies. Targets were hit in Kropyvnytskyi and Znamianka.

Im the Kharkiv region, Ukrainian military transport was struck in Balakliia. Ukrainian forces in the area are attempting to regroup as Russian troops approach Velykyi Burluk, an important logistics hub. Russian bombers are striking Ukrainian troops and military equipment in an effort to disrupt the Ukrainian command’s plans.

A strike was also reported on large warehouses in Varash, near the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant. Kyiv and its surrounding areas have come under strikes for several consecutive days, with fires reported both in the Ukrainian capital and near Brovary.

😂😂😂😂😂😂one day they will say whole Ukrainian is not strategically important

Is there any proper English speaker anchor?

German one-sided news,Ukraine deficit is 35%

Don't support Ukraine

Imagine indian so called experts talking about dombas when they could talk about Kashmire land dispute they have with Pakistan 😂

Years? Pokrovsk was going to stand for years; did not. Donbas will fall by early 2027 at latest. Russia has taken many smaller cies around final belt. Konstantinovka has fallen, Russia is West of already. Druzhkiva nearly incircled on E,S,Western directions.The Isw map and reporting are months behind. By winter these reports will he impossible. They say it will take take years at every major battle. How does this fantastical reporting help Ukraine? The political obsession with Donbas will cost Karkhiv, Zaporizhzhia city, Sumy. Currently Ne Karkhiv, about to be taken. A new front in Chirnihiv likely coming as well. Ukraine Cannot sustain civilian services and war this winter and beyond. Ukrainians will suffer greatly by West artificially keeping war alive, Ukraine is fully propped up and dependant on dwindling Western aid. Usa is distancing from Zelensky. Sag-u command pushed to Eu, State Dept warned all Americans leave Ukraine, stay at own risk. The resources of air defenses, money, armament are getting much harder to send. Germany and France have anti war parties dominating polls. Zelensky regime will be over by next year. "Supporting " Ukraine is leading to further loss of life and land. Inhumane not virtuous as elites and Eu claim.

Russia can definitely afford to give up the Donbas more
At the rate they are going Russia is going to lose Crimea because they can't resupply it
So having a land bridge to Crimea doesn't do them any good
Since they will be banned from visiting it once Ukraine takes it back

You must not give in to a bully.
Not a centimeter of territory to Putin, never.
If this means a hot war with Russia, so be it.
Russia must fall.