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24tv.ua
Trenches since 2014: a US Marine on whether Ukraine can give up Donbas
Ukrainian-language report (24 Kanal): Sampson argues Russia has never managed to hold the Donbas and that front-line soldiers refuse to give it up.
In this April 2026 interview with the Ukrainian outlet 24 Kanal, Matthew Sampson — a U.S. Marine Scout Sniper and volunteer with Ukraine’s International Legion — addresses head-on whether Ukraine could ever give up the Donbas.
He argues that Russia has been unable to hold the territory despite years of fighting, and that the soldiers he served alongside on the front line are unwilling to surrender it — pointing instead toward a restoration of Ukraine’s 1991 borders. He notes that entrenched fighting in the region dates back to 2014.
Reported in Russian by 24 Kanal; summarized in English.