President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly dismissed the idea of withdrawing from internationally recognised Ukrainian land as part of a deal, and has said the industrial Donbas region serves as a fortress holding back Russian advances deeper into Ukraine.
“If we’re talking about simply withdrawing from the east, we cannot do that,” he told reporters in comments released by Kyiv on Thursday.
“It is a matter of our country’s survival, involving the strongest defensive lines.”
Joining NATO, meanwhile, is a strategic objective enshrined in the country’s constitution and one which Kyiv sees as its most reliable security guarantee. Zelenskyy said it was not up to Russia to decide on the alliance’s membership.
The White House and NATO did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Russian proposals.
Political scientist Samuel Charap, chair in Russia and Eurasia Policy at RAND, a US-based global policy think-tank, said any requirement for Ukraine to withdraw from the Donbas remained a non-starter for Kyiv, both politically and strategically.
“Openness to ‘peace’ on terms categorically unacceptable to the other side could be more of a performance for Trump than a sign of a true willingness to compromise,” he added.
“The only way to test that proposition is to begin a serious process at the working level to hash out those details.”
TRUMP: PUTIN WANTS TO SEE IT ENDED
Russian forces currently control a fifth of Ukraine, an area about the size of the American state of Ohio, according to US estimates and open-source maps.
The three sources close to the Kremlin said the summit in the Alaskan city of Anchorage had ushered in the best chance for peace since the war began because there had been specific discussions about Russia’s terms, and Putin had shown a willingness to give ground.
“Putin is ready for peace – for compromise. That is the message that was conveyed to Trump,” one of the people said.
The sources cautioned that it was unclear to Moscow whether Ukraine would be prepared to cede the remains of the Donbas, and that if it did not, then the war would continue. Also unclear was whether or not the US would give any recognition to Russian-held Ukrainian territory, they added.
A fourth source said that though economic issues were secondary for Putin, he understood the economic vulnerability of Russia and the scale of the effort needed to go further into Ukraine.
Trump has said he wants to end the “bloodbath” of the war and be remembered as a “peacemaker president”. He said on Monday he had begun arranging a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, to be followed by a trilateral summit with the US president.
“I believe Vladimir Putin wants to see it ended,” Trump said beside Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. “I feel confident we are going to get it solved.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Putin was prepared to meet Zelenskyy but that all issues had to be worked through first, and there was a question about Zelenskyy’s authority to sign a peace deal.
Putin has repeatedly raised doubts about Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as his term in office was due to expire in May 2024, but the war means no new presidential election has yet been held. Kyiv says Zelenskyy remains the legitimate president.
The leaders of Britain, France and Germany have said they are sceptical that Putin wants to end the war.
