The Kremlin on Sunday drew a hard line on the Donetsk region, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Russia is prepared to keep fighting Ukraine for even one hundredth of a percent of the region’s territory.
“Be it half a percent or one hundredth of a percent — this is the Russian Federation. There is nothing to discuss here,” Peskov said in an interview with Pavel Zarubin of the Vesti news service.

Combat operations continue

Peskov said President Vladimir Putin has made clear that he wants peace and prefers a peaceful settlement. “But as long as this is impossible, we will fight, and we will fight all-out,” he added, noting that Russia is pressing on with active combat operations while the path to a peaceful solution remains closed.
The comments came days after Putin said on October 1 that roughly 11% of the region’s territory was still under Ukrainian control. He claimed Russia would take the rest of Donbas far sooner than the 1.5 to 2 years expected in Kyiv and Europe.