As of November 30, 2025, there is still no final political settlement or peace treaty ending the Russia‑Ukraine war. Fighting continues on multiple fronts, including in and around Donetsk and Luhansk (part of the broader eastern and Kupiansk/Novopavlivka offensives), and Russia still occupies large parts of Ukraine’s east and south, but the war is ongoing and unresolved.

Key points:

• Russia claims to have annexed Donetsk and Luhansk (along with Zaporizhzhia and Kherson) and demands their international recognition as Russian territory in its peace proposals, while insisting on Ukrainian military withdrawal from these areas.(themoscowtimes.com)
• Ukraine explicitly rejects recognizing any Russian annexations and continues to insist on the restoration of its 1991 borders; it has repeatedly stated it will not accept the permanent loss of Donbas territory as part of a settlement.(theguardian.com)
• In 2025, both the UN General Assembly and Security Council adopted resolutions that call for a just peace in Ukraine but do not codify any new borders or status for Donetsk and Luhansk; these documents leave the territorial question unresolved and emphasize principles rather than a concrete settlement.(en.wikipedia.org)
• A U.S.-backed 28‑point draft peace framework from November 2025, as reported, would recognize Russian control over Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk, but it is only a proposed plan, has been heavily criticized, and has not been accepted by Ukraine or translated into a binding agreement.(bcfausa.org)
• Ongoing negotiations and counter‑proposals show that the eventual status of Donetsk and Luhansk is still being contested diplomatically, and the war itself has not yet been brought to an end.(reuters.com)

Because no final political settlement exists yet, we cannot say whether Sacks’ prediction about the eventual settlement (some form of de facto or de jure independence/separation for Donetsk and Luhansk rather than reintegration under Kyiv) has turned out to be right or wrong. It remains a claim about the future course of a still‑unsettled conflict, so the correct assessment at this time is “inconclusive (too early)”.