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Ukrainian officials have pitched a plan to rename a section of the Donbas region, which is coveted by Russia, to “Donnyland” as a clear nod to President Trump and the aid he has provided against Moscow’s invasion, according to a new report.
While not on any official documents, Kyiv’s delegations have repeatedly brought up the idea of Donnyland in conversations with the US, officials told the New York Times.
The proposal is seen as a way to curry Trump’s favor in deciding the future of the Donbas region after the president suggested he supported the idea of giving up the land to Moscow following his meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last year.
Russia has conquered the vast majority of Donbas in the more than four years of war, but it continues to struggle to take its Donetsk fortress belt, which has successfully repelled Moscow’s forces for decades.
Ukraine has repeatedly rejected any plan to give up Donbas, without which the country would be susceptible to a future Russian invasion.
Ukraine pitched the idea to rename a 50-mile-by-40-mile stretch of land along the northeastern section of Donetsk into Donnyland in hopes of cementing the robust fortress belt, the Times reported.
Donnyland would serve as a permanent buffer zone between Ukraine and Russia, with Kyiv hopeful that Moscow would avoid a future invasion lest it enrage the US by trying to conquer a territory named after an American president.
A flag and national anthem for Donnyland were even created using ChatGPT, with the banner featuring green and gold colors, sources told the Times.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has often touted Trump as the only man who can end the war in Ukraine, which has become the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II.
“I trust President Trump because he’s the president of the United States, because your people, your people voted for him, and I respect their choice, and I will work with President Trump,” Zelensky told NBC’s “Meet the Press” earlier this year.
Zelensky, who has had a tumultuous relationship with Trump during his second term in office, has also acknowledged that Ukraine would likely fail at holding back the Russian invasion without America’s help.
Along with discussions of Donnyland, Ukraine’s negotiators have also suggested a “Monaco model” agreement for Donbas, referencing the Mediterranean city-state, according to the Times.
The proposal would see Donnyland, which has only been mentioned in talks, stand as a semiautonomous ministate benefiting as an offshore economic zone.
Discussions about Donbas and the future of Ukraine, however, have stalled since late February as the US waged war on Iran.
English (US)