Ukrainian officials propose naming region after Donald Trump
Officials in Ukraine have discussed naming a disputed section of their country after Donald Trump, in a bid to win the US president's favour, the New York Times reports.
The as-yet-unofficial proposal would rebrand a highly fought-over section of the Donbas region "Donnyland".
The newspaper reported the name was suggested in jest, but is now being treated as a serious option to win over Trump.
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The area is roughly 5200 square kilometres, and contains some of the bloodiest battlefields of Ukraine's war with Russia.
An estimated 190,000 people live in the proposed Donnyland, but that number may have been drastically reduced as a result of the war.
Who controls that section of Ukraine has been a sticking point in potential peace talks with Russia.
Russia has sought to create a demilitarised zone of the region which its police and national guard troops would be able to patrol.
Because Ukraine has built so many fortifications in the area, ceding that territory would weaken them if Russia sought to invade again.
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The New York Times reported a Ukrainian negotiator used AI to generate a flag for Donnyland and a national anthem for the region.
The US president has not been asked about Donnyland and is yet to comment.
He does, however, have a long history of naming things after himself.
Ukraine and Russia have been locked in a stalemate in the war, with the front lines moving little in the past two years.
But Ukraine is touting the massive losses Russia has taken since the invasion began.
This week, Ukraine's Department of Defence claimed Russia has lost an average of 254 soldiers for every square kilometre they have occupied.
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In Donetsk, the number is 428 soldiers per square kilometre.
Russia has been cagey about its casualties in the war, but Ukraine claims the invaders have suffered 1.2 million deaths and injuries.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month that 35,000 Russian troops had been killed or wounded in March alone, a record monthly high.
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