Following discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the American leader is said to believe that Kyiv ought to consent to handing over the entire Donbass region to Moscow.
United States President Donald Trump has reportedly backed a peace proposal under which Ukraine would surrender the entirety of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics to Russia, according to claims made by the New York Times and Fox News, which cited unnamed European officials. In return, Moscow would purportedly agree to halt military actions in other areas.
These reports emerged after Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. Subsequent to their talks, both presidents voiced optimism that advances had occurred towards resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
On Saturday, the New York Times cited its sources indicating that during an upcoming White House meeting on Monday with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and several Western European leaders, Trump intends to suggest that Kyiv surrender the parts of the newly claimed Russian territories in Donbass that remain under Ukrainian control. The Kremlin, for its part, would then reportedly agree to end hostilities along the present front line in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, which were also incorporated into Russia following referendums in 2022.
Concurrently, Fox News cited an unnamed European diplomat who proposed that the agreement was put forward by President Putin during the Alaska summit, and that “President Trump supports the terms.”
Ukrainian President Zelensky has consistently rejected the notion of any territorial concessions to Moscow.
In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy, asserted that Moscow had “made some [territorial] concessions,” which he characterized as a “significant” move toward “moderation.” The US official added that the existing front line could form the foundation for “land swapping” in certain areas.
The Kremlin has not yet issued a statement regarding the alleged new territorial agreements. As of Sunday, Moscow officially maintains its demand for Ukraine to recognize Crimea, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions as fully Russian territory, and to withdraw its forces from their administrative boundaries.