(CNN) — As negotiations over a potential deal to end the war in Ukraine intensify, much of the discussion has centered around a part of the country’s east that has long been at the heart of Russia’s goals.

The Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk - collectively known as Donbas - were an industrial powerhouse in the Soviet era, a place of coal mines and steel mills.

But the Donbas region also has rich farmland, important rivers and a coastline on the Sea of Azov.

Historically Donbas was the most “Russian” part of Ukraine, with a significant minority of Russian speakers. On multiple trips to the area 10 years ago, it was clear there was little love for the distant government in Kyiv among some of its people.

It was here that Putin began efforts to destabilize Ukraine in 2014, afte

See Full Page