Ukraine will not leave Donbas — Zelenskyi

09.08.2026, 13:07 rubryka.com

The president stressed that Ukraine does not intend to withdraw its forces from Donbas in exchange for political agreements. He also noted that the Kremlin would try to portray any negotiated terms as its own achievement.

"He needs to sell a victory. He will not have a victory in Ukraine. He needs to capture Donbas. We are not going to withdraw on our own. What can he sell as a victory? He will distort these Anchorage terms that they discussed with the American side, with the US president. No one will abandon their country, their people, and simply leave," the president said.

Zelenskyi also warned that even if certain agreements are reached, there is no guarantee that Russia will stop its aggression or refrain from attempting to expand its offensive to other Ukrainian regions.

"We need to roughly understand what is happening with the Russians to understand that they will do anything. There will be hundreds, thousands of cyberattacks, there will be missile pressure, there will be intimidation, and so on. They do not change. Why? Putin cannot find a victory in this war so far," the president said.

Zelenskyi also said that the Kremlin is considering a new mobilization without an official announcement. According to him, the Russian authorities may use covert mechanisms to recruit people into the military.

"Unfortunately, we have to acknowledge and understand what is happening. He is thinking about mobilization. He is thinking about how to deceive his own people. To carry out a mass mobilization without announcing it. To introduce some kind of shadow contracts, block the borders, and so on. We see this. We are already seeing many corresponding steps," he added.

Zelenskyi also said that Russia plans to deploy between 30,000 and 50,000 North Korean troops on its territory.

According to him, the number initially discussed was hundreds, then thousands of North Korean soldiers, but Moscow has now decided to deploy a significantly larger number. North Korean troops will study the experience of modern warfare on Russian territory.

What is known about Russia's plans to seize Donbas in 2026

As Rubryka reported, in 2026 Russia was preparing a new spring-summer offensive in southeastern Ukraine. To do so, it deployed its strategic reserve and planned to increase the size of its grouping in Ukraine by approximately 20,000 troops.

At the time, the Russian grouping in Ukraine numbered around 680,000 personnel. Its further reinforcement was being carried out through strategic reserves. According to Ukrainian intelligence estimates, Russia intended to capture the entire territory of Donbas by September.

At the same time, Ukraine's Defense Forces planned to conduct a strategic defensive operation in 2026, combining it with counteroffensive actions in selected areas of the front. The goal was to exhaust Russian forces and create conditions for larger-scale operations in the future.

On March 3, Zelenskyi said Russia's winter offensive had failed. Since late January, Ukrainian Defense Forces had regained control of 400 square kilometers in the Oleksandrivka direction.

Then, on March 15, the president said that Russia's spring offensive had also failed, but that Moscow did not plan to stop the war. According to him, Russia currently lacks the forces for a large-scale offensive and is therefore carrying out only tactical attempts to infiltrate Ukrainian positions, which Ukrainian forces are destroying.