A Ukrainian serviceman walks in a destroyed coal mine of Butovka at the front line with Russia-backed separatists not far from the town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP/Getty Images)
"Donbas offers both a military advantage and significant economic resources, making it a high-value target for the Kremlin," explained Elina Beketova, a fellow with the Democratic Resilience Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis.
"The Donbas alone holds vast reserves of coal – especially anthracite, crucial for energy and metallurgy," Beketova said. "Of 114 mines in Donetsk region, only 15 remain functional," she pointed out, as many have been flooded, destroyed, or left inoperable by the war.
Coal tells only half the story.
Perhaps the crown jewel is salt: the Soledar salt mines, with an estimated 4.5 billion tons of rock salt—making it the largest reserve in Europe. These mines and the Artyomsol plant, Europe's largest salt producer, fell to Russian forces in 2022.
A map from the Institute for the Study of War and AEI's Critical Threats Project that shows Russia's territorial control of Ukraine as of Aug. 11, 2025. (Institute for the Study of War and AEI's Critical Threats Project)
For Kyiv, the Donbas is more than contested ground—it is an economic lifeline, whose coal, salt, and gas reserves could help bankroll recovery in a country already burdened with enormous post-war debts.
The most recent joint assessment by the United Nations, World Bank, European Commission, and Ukrainian government estimates that Kyiv faces $524 billion in post-war reconstruction over the next decade.
Of the total long-term reconstruction and recovery needs, housing accounts for the largest share at nearly $84 billion, followed by $78 billion needed for the transportation industry and $68 billion for the energy sector.
Ukrainian soldiers participate in a military training drill at an undisclosed location as the war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for the last 2 years, in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on March 06, 2024. (Jose Colon/Anadolu/Getty Images)
Mappes added that Ukraine's substantial investment in reinforcing its "fortress belt" with defensive structures, logistics hubs, and defense industrial facilities, underscores its central role in the country’s military resilience.
"Putin's proposal is not a compromise, rather a ploy to avoid the years-long, bloody campaign that would be necessary to seize the fortress belt and the rest of Donetsk militarily," she added.
Amanda covers the intersection of business and geopolitics for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/giving-putin-donbas-would-hand-moscow-powerful-leverage-over-kyivs-financial-survival