Zelensky: Russia Shifts Donetsk Capture Deadlines – Now at 15 Attempts

President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia has changed its self-imposed deadlines to capture Donetsk 15 times since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

On his official Telegram channel, Zelensky described the situation on the front lines in the Donetsk region, highlighting the repeated moving of the target dates by Russian political and military leaders. 

“Russia’s political leadership remains obsessed with Donbas,” Zelensky said. “They have entertained this delusion – that they would fully capture Donbas – 15 times already,” he added, concluding that if Russia does not end the war, it will move their deadline again as well.

15 different deadlines

According to him, in 2022, the deadlines were March 31, then May 9, June 1, Sept. 15, and Dec. 31. In 2023, Putin set two more deadlines for the capture of Donbas – March 1 and then Dec. 31.

“In 2024, there were again two such deadlines,” Zelensky said, adding that in 2025, Russia tried to convince US President Donald Trump that Ukraine would “supposedly fall,” giving three final dates for capturing the region – Sept. 1, Dec. 1, and Dec. 25. 

“Already this year, the Russians have again pushed back the date,” he said. At first, they set the deadline of March 31, then Sept. 1, “and now the deadline is Dec. 31.”

Sacrificing more troops amid crisis

In May, Zelensky confirmed Russia has lost 145,000 troops since the start of 2026, including nearly 86,000 killed. 

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Russia’s worsening fuel and economic crisis is deepening the cost of war, even as the Kremlin is forcefully recruiting residents into the armed forces, including in occupied Ukrainian territories, to sustain frontline assaults.

In recent weeks, Moscow has admitted that drivers across Russia are queuing for gasoline and often cannot find the right fuel, forcing emergency bans on exports, reserve releases, and talks about importing gasoline despite Russia being a major oil producer. 

Russian general aviation operators have started testing automobile gasoline in light aircraft as aviation fuel becomes increasingly costly and scarce, with some regions reporting stocks sufficient for only one to one-and-a-half months. 

Simultaneously, Ukraine’s sanctions envoy says war spending is devouring Russia’s budget, with oil and gas revenues down sharply. Domestic debt is reportedly surging, as the civilian sector is squeezed to fund the military.

“If Putin wants to sacrifice another million of his soldiers to keep smashing against this wall, then the million Russians who have not yet been mobilized into the Russian army and are arguing in gas lines should think about what awaits them next,” Zelensky said.