With Russian forces coming closer to establishing control over the entire Donbas, one can’t help but wonder what Kyiv might lose for good if Russia captures the remainder of this historical region, which consists of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, and holds onto it, per Putin’s plan. Searches for “Donbas”1 turn up descriptions of an “industrial heartland” and a “breadbasket” (though the latter term crops up far less often). Is the Donbas either? And what would Russia gain from controlling it?
The short answer to the first question, based on data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, is that prior to the conflict, the Donbas could indeed have been described as an industrial heartland, but not exactly a breadbasket.
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The short answer to the first question, based on data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, is that prior to the conflict, the Donbas could indeed have been described as an industrial heartland, but not exactly a breadbasket.