Russian president Vladimir Putin reportedly told Donald Trump that one his demands for peace in Ukraine is full control of the Donbas.

The region in eastern Ukraine, which had a pre-war population of around 6.5 million people, is made up of two regions: Donetsk and Luhansk.

Moscow's demands regarding this area are not new, and even date back before the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.

Putin has been trying to occupy Donbas for 11 years, since Russia's first invasion of Ukraine, when after the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsular, Russian forces occupied territories in the east of the country.

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But even following the all-out war, Moscow has still failed to occupy all of Donbas militarily and hopes now to do it w

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