Why are Ukraine and Russia not able to agree on the fate of Donetsk?

An MRLS BM-21 "Grad" fires towards Russian army positions in Druzhkivka direction, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP)

A top aide to Vladimir Putin said on Friday after talks between the Russian president and US envoys that there was no hope of sealing a deal to end the war in Ukraine unless disagreements over territory were resolved.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the issue - which centres on the fate of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine - would be discussed at US-brokered trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on Friday and Saturday.