President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia has changed its self-imposed deadlines to capture Donetsk 15 times since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.On his official Telegram channel, Zelensky described the situation on the front lines in the Donetsk region, highlighting the repeated moving of the target dates by Russian political and military leaders. JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“Russia’s political leadership remains obsessed with Donbas,” Zelensky said. “They have entertained this delusion – that they would fully capture Donbas – 15 times already,” he added, concluding that if Russia does not end the war, it will move their deadline again as well.15 different deadlinesAccording to him, in 2022, the deadlines were March 31, then May 9, June 1, Sept. 15, and Dec. 31. In 2023, Putin set two more deadlines for the capture of Donbas – March 1 and then Dec. 31.“In 2024, there were again two such deadlines,” Zelensky said, adding that in 2025, Russia tried to convince US President Donald Trump that Ukraine would “supposedly fall,” giving three final dates for capturing the region – Sept. 1, Dec. 1, and Dec. 25. “Already this year, the Russians have again pushed back the date,” he said. At first, they set the deadline of March 31, then Sept. 1, “and now the deadline is Dec. 31.”Sacrificing more troops amid crisisIn May, Zelensky confirmed Russia has lost 145,000 troops since the start of 2026, including nearly 86,000 killed.