As the United States pushes forward with a revised peace framework intended to end the war in Ukraine, officials and experts from Kyiv, Moscow, and Washington have informed Digital that the initiative is closer to a breakthrough than at any time since Russia’s invasion. However, it remains stalled by the same persistent obstacle: the Kremlin seeks Ukrainian land, and Ukraine refuses to give up any of it.
President Donald Trump announced this week that “tremendous progress” has been achieved, stating that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will meet with counterparts in Moscow, while senior U.S. defense leaders will engage with their Ukrainian counterparts. A senior American official confirmed to Digital that Kyiv has accepted the “broad outlines” of a developing agreement, with “minor details” still under negotiation. European allies indicate they are coordinating a new “Coalition of the Willing,” with France advocating for a “just and lasting peace.”
Yet, as Russia launches new missile and drone attacks on Kyiv—resulting in civilian deaths and damage to power infrastructure—negotiators caution that the territorial question remains the critical red line.
Oleksii Honcharenko, an opposition member of the Ukrainian parliament, told Digital that he believes Ukraine must pursue peace “as soon as possible,” despite significant segments of Ukrainian society distrusting the emerging plan. “My personal position is that we need peace as soon as possible,” he stated. “This plan is a chance. I don’t like everything in it… some things are unacceptable. But it is a workable framework.”
He rejected criticism that the plan is a U.S.-Russia blueprint imposed on Kyiv. “For me, it doesn’t matter who the initial author was. There is a framework. Let’s work on it.”
Honcharenko acknowledged that territorial concessions, one of Russia’s core demands, would be painful for Ukrainians. But he also highlighted the reality of the battlefield: “We are not in the position where our tanks are near Moscow. There will not be a solution I like completely.”
Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., a House Foreign Affairs committee member, told Digital that the situation emphasizes the need for strong American leadership. “Russia invaded Ukraine because Joe Biden was the weakest president in American history.”
Barr, a candidate for U.S. Senate in Kentucky, said, “President Trump’s peace-through-strength leadership kept Putin fully contained. This war never would have happened under his watch. Trump is the peace president… the only leader who can end this war and bring stability back to Europe.”
Exiled Russian economist and former deputy finance minister Sergey Aleksashenko echoed the main impediment: “The biggest difference is territorial,” he told Digital. “Russia wants to grab what it was not able to take by military means. Ukraine does not want to give up. All other points could be resolved, but not territory.”
He said he sees no indication that Russian leadership is prepared to compromise, arguing the Kremlin believes Western support for Ukraine is weakening. Putin may be willing to fight “another two, three years,” convinced he can outlast Kyiv and European governments struggling to maintain military aid.
Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove, the former NATO supreme allied commander, told Digital he doesn’t believe Ukraine will agree to cede land Russia has never conquered. “It is an incredibly, incredibly bad thought,” he stated.
Breedlove contended that Putin’s objectives extend far beyond Ukraine and that the Kremlin has been explicit about wanting to reshape the security order in Eastern Europe. He also warned that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is negotiating under intense pressure from Western governments that control Ukraine’s access to weapons and funding.
“It’s very clear he’s being threatened with no support,” Breedlove said. “If Mr. Zelenskyy loses the support of America and Europe, life’s going to be really ugly for Ukraine. But they will not stop fighting.”
He mentioned that early versions of the U.S. proposal included “egregious” provisions that Ukraine would never have accepted, but that the process has “improved” as Kyiv’s input was incorporated. Still, “the things that are acceptable to Ukraine are not going to be acceptable to Mr. Putin,” he said.
Breedlove challenged the claim that Kyiv is ready to concede territory, saying lawmakers desire peace but not capitulation. “I believe there are many parliamentary hearings and many in Zelenskyy’s group that want peace, but they want a durable, equitable peace. I’m not sure that they’re ready to make a lot of concessions to do that,” he said.
As negotiators advance toward what they hope will be a final round of talks, all sides agree on one point: the success or failure of this effort will depend on whether Ukraine and Russia — under pressure from allies, including incentives from Washington and the realities of the battlefield — can finally bridge the fundamental disagreement that has defined the war from day one.