President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky stated that the withdrawal of Ukrainian Armed Forces units from Donbass would lead to a split within Ukrainian society.

According to him, a significant part of the population would oppose such a decision. He also expressed the view that in such a situation Russia could attempt to use the internal crisis in Ukraine to achieve its military and political objectives.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that 15–17 percent of the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic remains under Ukrainian control. This assessment was also confirmed by the head of the region Denis Pushilin.