Clément Molin Profile picture
Aug 18, 2025 18 tweets 7 min read Read on X
This is why giving away Donbass cannot be an option for Ukraine 🇺🇦

Donald Trump 🇺🇸 will ask Zelensky to give away Donbass in exchange for a ceasefire with Russia 🇷🇺.

It would mean giving 9 cities and the main fortifications to Russia without a fight.

🧵THREAD🧵1/18⬇️Image
Giving away Donbass may seem to be the solution to calm Putin and reach a ceasefire, or even the peace between Ukraine and Russia.

However this cannot be accepted by any government of Ukraine for few simple reasons. Image
Here, we are mainly talking about the non-occupied part of Donetsk oblast, since the northern part of Luhansk oblast is mainly rural and has been occupied without big fights in spring 2022.

This is what Russia took in 30 month (after the last ukrainian counter-offensive). Image
As @M0nstas states, this is 5100 km² in 30 months, it means there is still 6500km2 to be taken.

Also in the 5100km2, we count those cities :

-Bakhmut (biggest russian gain in 3 years) 80k pop
-Avdiivka 35k pop
-Torestk 35k pop
-Selydove 24k pop
-Kourakhove 20k pop
- - than 15k Image
So in 3 years of fight, with the main battles being waged in Donetsk oblast, Russia only took one "big" city (80k inhabitants) and smaller towns, all located in the periphery of Donetsk.

They still have to fight for the big cities of ukrainian controled Donbass.
In the 6500km2 to be taken we count :

-Kramatorsk 160k pop
-Sloviansk 120k pop
-Kostiantynivka 75k pop
-Pokrovsk 65k pop
-Droujkivka 60k pop
-Myrnohrad 50k pop
-Dobropilla 30k pop
-Lyman 22k pop
-Siversk 12k pop

In the lone Sloviansk-Kostiantynivka valley, 415k pop... Image
Who would be crazy enough to give away without a fight a total worth of more than 600k pop cities, while Russia only took ~250k pop cities in 3 years of war ?

This, without forgetting the area has industrial and mining potential, even if partly destroyed by 11 years of war. Image
With that stated, there is also the price for Russia. Russia is pushing constanlty in the region. Mainly with infantry, since Ukraine built large anti-vehicle oblastacles and is massively using drones.

This has an enormous human price for Russia. Image
Image
Image
That is the reason why Putin is not willing to fight for Pokrovsk, for Kramatorsk or Sloviansk.

He would lose too much men, the operation will take far more time and his economy will continue to suffer.

He is seeking an easy victory with D. Trump. Image
Also, Ukraine built massive fortifications in Donetsk oblast. This region is easily defendable. There are massive cities, industrial complexes, mines and undergrounds.

Everytime there is a field or a treeline, ukrainian fortifications are standing. Image
In this particular region, a big part of Ukraine's "New Donbass Line" is standing.

It goes from the southern part of the non-occupied part of the oblast to Izium, Kharkiv and now even Sumy ! Image
Here is a map of what would happen with this region in the hands of Russia.

No more big fortifications, an open terrain for further offensive actions in central Ukraine, to push to Dnipro, Poltava, Zaporizhia or Kharkiv oblasts. Image
If the region is handed over to Putin without a fight, it would place russian forces 10km to Izium, 26km to Lozova and 55km to Pavlohrad.

Those are the only cities west of Donbass, before Dnipro (120km) and Poltava (175km). Image
Ukrainian soldiers are not willing to give away Donbass, their region, the region they have been fighting for during 11 years, the one where they lost comrades.

Putin will not give anything in return, no Kherson, no Zaporizhia, no Kharkiv. So they have no interest in it.
But if Ukraine is not willing to leave Donbass to Russia without fighting, what will happen ?

Peace will probably not be found, Russia will continue to push and slowly taking the region, or maybe they will be forced to stop.
Russia's economy has been largely left untouched.

If tomorrow, ukrainian drones and missiles are destroying russian economy (factories, mines, oil and gas facilities, ports...), Putin may be forced to stop. Image
With Trump and the USA disengaging, it is now the role of Europe to continue to support Ukraine, as long as it is willing to fight.

France, Germany, the UK, Poland, Italy, the Baltics and Nordics countries must also become the real rear base of Ukraine. Image
Thank you for reading this thread.

Do not hesistate to share, like and follow my account for more in depth analysis.

I've also updated my biography with a longer version in french, you can translate it easily to know more about me.

x.com/clement_molin/…

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More from @clement_molin

Mar 27
Dams and bridge targeted, drone recon, airstrike campaign, mechanized assault, Russia 🇷🇺 is slowly starting its Sloviansk-Kramatorsk offensive

I mapped more than 4 000 airstrikes from the Donets river to Hulialpole this winter and analysed the troops movements :

🧵THREAD🧵1/20⬇️Image
For now more than 3 years, Russia has been preparing the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk battle.

It was the objective on defeating the Bakhmut-Soledar-Siversk line in 2023, it was the objective during the Donetsk suburbs battle (2024) and the Pokrovsk battle (2025). Image
For 2026, Russia hopes to make strategic advances to the twin cities, from the north (which implies securing Lyman), the south (implies securing Kostiantynivka, Drujkivka and Dobropilla) and the east.

This is exactly what the data I collected is showing : Image
Read 20 tweets
Mar 25
40% of russian 🇷🇺 oil exports are currently stopped after Ukraine 🇺🇦 attacked the Primorsk, Ust-Luga and Novorossiisk crude oil ports.

At the same time, the Druzhba pipeline remains closed and multiple refineries have been hit. This is a big blow to Russia.

🧵THREAD🧵1/15 ⬇️Image
With the war in Iran and the closure of the Hormuz Strait, the oil and gas prices have climbed.

Russia was hoping to capitalize on the situation to sell more oil and gas at higher prices, in order to rebuild its finances.

However, Ukraine acted to stop this.
These last few days, ukrainian long range drones and missiles targeted all 3 western ports used to export crude oil.

The first one is this one, Primorsk, 900km north of Ukraine and 50km from Finland.
Read 15 tweets
Mar 23
Since the start of the year, Ukraine 🇺🇦 dug more than 1 250 km of defenses in the rear areas of the frontline

The "kill zone grid" around the New Donbas Line is quickly expanding. Here is what you need to know and a detailed geographic analysis :

🧵THREAD🧵1/20 ⬇️Image
This is the small town of Shakhtarske in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

You can see one line 5km east of the town, a second one 1km east, which is a ring, going all around, protecting it on all flanks, which will allow it to be a strongpoint. Image
In the south first, you can see here the new fortifications built this year in red. Ukrainian counter-attacks near Pokrovsk'e allowed them to reorganize the defenses of Pokrovsk'e and Novomykolaivka, both of which are now fortified strongholds. Image
Read 20 tweets
Mar 22
Le mois de mars 2026 pourrait être le pire mois de progression russe 🇷🇺 en Ukraine 🇺🇦 depuis le printemps 2024.

L'accélération promise par beaucoup d'analystes depuis 3 ans n'a toujours pas eu lieu et l'armée ukrainienne tient sans l'aide américaine.

🧵THREAD🧵1/22 ⬇️ Image
Alors que le lancement des offensives de printemps de l'armée russe se fait attendre (Ocheretyne au printemps 2024 et la route Pokrovsk-Kostiantynivka en 2025), l'armée russe ne montre aucun signe d'une accélération de sa progression.

Source des données : @Pouletvolant3 ⬇️
La Russie 🇷🇺 occupe :

🔹19.5% du territoire ukrainien (contre 18.12% en janvier 2023)
🔸100% de la Crimée
🔸99.67% de l’oblast de Louhansk (98.39%)
🔸79.48% de l’oblast de Donetsk (57.16%)
🔸75.45% de l'oblast de Zaporijjia (72.52%)
🔸72.11% de l’oblast de Kherson (72.08%) Image
Read 22 tweets
Mar 21
3 weeks have now passed following the start of the US 🇺🇸-Israeli 🇮🇱 operation to topple the regime in Iran 🇮🇷

🔸The Islamic regime is still holding
🔸The Hormuz Strait is closed
🔸Iran continues to retaliate
🔸No new protest in Iran
🔸US/ISR operations continue

🧵THREAD🧵1/20⬇️Image
Here are the main objectives of the operation:

🔸Create the conditions for regime change in Tehran
🔸Destroy Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs
🔸End attacks against the United States and Israel in the region (Iran and its proxies) Image
Here are Iran's main objectives in its retaliation:

🔸To ensure the regime's survival and elevate the dead to the status of martyrs
🔸To prevent regime change
🔸To create chaos throughout the region, thereby triggering an economic crisis that will ultimately end the war. Image
Read 21 tweets
Mar 19
Since the US 🇺🇸 - Israeli 🇮🇱 operations in Iran 🇮🇷 started, more than 15 000 aistrikes happened, half by the IDF, half by the USAF

Since the first day, I made around 10 different maps and gathered multiple others. Here, you can see two zones of strikes :

🧵THREAD🧵1/20 ⬇️Image
My very first map was made with preliminary informations, showing US/ISR strikes and Iranian retaliation on the first day. Image
Then, I started gathering the first informations from the first few days of war. You can see which areas are the most targeted in Iran at the time, mainly the big cities as well as the western part of the country. Image
Read 20 tweets

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