Why Danits is so important for the defense of Ukraine against Russia

The key departure at the Alaska summit is that Russian President Vladimir Putin is reported to freeze the war in Ukraine along its current front line in return for the rest of Donetsk.

Russia occupies about 70% of the region (region), including the regional capital of the same name, after more than a decade of struggle, in which Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk were bleeding the conflict.

In order for Russia to receive all Donetsk, it would secure its internationally unknown claim to the region and avoid further heavy military losses.

For Ukraine, withdrawal from Western Donetsk will mean a great loss not only of the earth, with the prospect of a new exodus of refugees, but also a drop of Bulkwa against any future Russian promotion.

Here we look why the territory matters so.

According to the Reuters estimate, Ukraine still occupies about 6,600 km (2548 square meters) in Donetsk.

About a quarter of a million people remain there, local officials have recently said.

The main urban centers include Kramatar, Slavyansk, Kastiyantinka and Druzhkiv.

It is a part of the main industrial region of Ukraine, Donbass (Donaty basin), although its economy was devastated by the war.

“The reality is that these resources will probably not be able to access, perhaps for a decade, at least from the (land) of the mines …,” said Dr. Martney Havelle, the department at Russian and Eastern European University.

“These lands were completely destroyed, these cities are completely flattened.”

Recent Report of the American Institute of Studying War (ISW) describes the “Fortress Belt”, which works 50 km (31 miles) through Western Donetsk.

“Ukraine has spent the last 11 years, pouring time, money and efforts to strengthen the fort and create significant protection of industrial and defensive infrastructure,” he writes.

The region’s reports speak of trenches, bunkers, minefields, anti -tank obstacles and barbed wire.

The Russian forces attacking the Pokrovsk are seeking to capture it, which will probably take several years, ” – says ISW.

The fortifications are certainly part of the Ukrainian defense, but also topography.

“The terrain is quite protected, in particular, the height of the Chasiv yarn, which is at the heart of the Ukrainian line,” says Nick Reynolds, a ground warfare research associate in the UK, the Institute of Royal Services (Rusi), BBC News reports.

However, he adds: “If you look at the topography of the Donbass, Eastern Ukraine as a whole, the country is not actually contributing to Ukrainians.”

“The city of Donetsk is a tall land. It’s all down when you go to the West, which is not great for Ukrainians in terms of launching defensive operations.

“It’s not just about attracting tight struggle or difficulties that rise up and down, much about observation, which means the opportunity to coordinate artillery fires and other forms of fire support without raising the drones.

“Similarly, high -ground bits are better for the spread of the radio, it is better to coordinate drones.”

The ravine, which recently the Russians claimed to be seized: ” – One of the last pieces of government,” he says.

Intelligence with satellite images, whether it is provided by the international partner of Ukraine or commercial, very important, said Reynolds, “but this is not something that directly coordinate its tactical missions.”

Western Donetsk is just a small part of the front line that stretches for 1100 km, but this summer there were some tough Russian attacks.

But they were in Moscow to send their ground forces in any other direction, it is doubtful whether they are making better progress.

“In the south, the front line in Zaparitzhia is now very similar to the fact that in the Donbass, so it would be just fighting wide defensive positions,” says Reynolds.

“The Russians face the same problem trying to overcome in the north, so they certainly do not press the open door.”

Theoretically, in the case of a peaceful deal, Ukrainians could move their line back to the West.

Of course, there will be a question of unfavorable terrain, and the construction of deep protection will take time, even with the help of civilian contractors who should not work under the fire.

But the theory is one thing, and a research associate in the study of land of Russia cannot see how the Ukrainian military abandon Western Donetsk without a fight.

“Even when Trump administration tries to use constant support or security guarantees,” says Nick Reynolds, “based on previous Russian behavior based on the obvious transactional approach that the US administration accepted, it is difficult to understand how the Ukrainian government would like to abandon this territory.”

President of Ukrainian Olodimir Zelensky stated that his country would reject any Russian proposal to abandon the Donbass region in exchange for ceasefire, claiming that the eastern territory could be used as a bridgehead for future attacks.