NYT: Concessions In Donbass Will Not Stop Russian Federation

• 1.02.2026, 14:34

And they will inspire the Kremlin to launch a new offensive deep into Ukraine.

By achieving a peace treaty with Ukraine on the basis of the so-called "Anchorage formula," Russia is not going to stop aggression. This is what The New York Times writes.

What exactly the illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed on at talks in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15 has not been made public, the publication points out.

But since then, Kremlin officials have insisted on fulfilling the "Anchorage formula," which the NYT sees as follows: Putin will stop the war if Kiev surrenders an unoccupied part of the Donetsk region to Moscow (and agrees to a number of other non-territorial demands).

The journalists point out that the territories in question are one of the most fortified parts of the front. The defense and fortification system in the region had been under construction there since 2014, before the full-scale invasion began.

The loss of that line would make Ukraine more vulnerable to any future Russian attack, according to analysts interviewed by the newspaper. Moreover, by gaining them, Moscow would be motivated to continue its offensive deep inside the country, derailing a hypothetical peace agreement, the paper said.