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By Michael D. Carroll
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated he is open to negotiating a ceasefire in Ukraine with incoming U.S. President Donald Trump but remains firm on critical conditions, reports Reuters news agency. Putin has ruled out any significant territorial concessions and demands that Kyiv abandon its NATO membership ambitions.
Trump, who has vowed to swiftly end the war, takes office amid Russia's strongest position in the conflict to date. Moscow now controls a swath of Ukrainian territory roughly the size of Virginia, with its forces advancing at their most rapid pace since the early days of the 2022 invasion. The stage is set for high-stakes diplomacy as the two leaders prepare to address one of the most pressing global conflicts.
What Plan Is Trump Putting Forward to Putin?
According to the report, in the first detailed insights into what Russian President Vladimir Putin might accept in a peace deal brokered by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, five current and former Russian officials suggested the Kremlin could broadly agree to freezing the conflict along existing front lines.
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Three of these individuals, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the discussions, said there might be room for negotiation over the specific divisions of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. This potential flexibility underscores the complexity of any prospective ceasefire arrangement.
While Moscow asserts that the four regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson are fully integrated into Russia and protected under its nuclear umbrella, its forces currently control only 70-80 percent of the territory. Approximately 10,000 square miles remain under Ukrainian control.
Is Trump's Peace Plan Acceptable to Moscow?
Reuters further reported that two officials familiar with Kremlin discussions suggested that Russia might be willing to withdraw from smaller pockets of territory it holds in Ukraine's Kharkiv and Mykolaiv regions, located in the north and south, respectively. These potential concessions hint at areas of flexibility in future negotiations, despite Russia's broader territorial claims.
Back in June, Putin said he would consider a ceasefire or a freeze to the war in Ukraine if Kyiv abandoned its hopes of joining NATO and withdrew its troops from the regions of Ukraine that Russia has said it has annexed.
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Moscow has controlled Crimea, to the south of mainland Ukraine, since 2014, and declared in September 2022 that it had annexed the Donetsk and Luhansk regions collectively known as the Donbas, as well as the southern Ukrainian Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
The Kremlin's grip on these regions is not internationally recognized. Kyiv has vowed to reclaim them.
How Has Ukraine Responded to Trump's Peace Plan?
Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, has spurned Trump's proposals and insisted Kyiv needs to join NATO as soon as possible and has refused to cede territory to Moscow.
"I believe that President Trump really wants a quick decision" to end the conflict, Zelensky remarked at a European summit earlier this month, but he added, "It doesn't mean that it will happen this way."
He stressed that a peace process must be just and not risk leaving Ukraine vulnerable. "He [Trump] wants this war to be finished," Zelensky continued, acknowledging that while everyone shares that goal, a hasty resolution "is going to be a loss for Ukraine."
This caution highlights Zelensky's concerns that Trump's approach could lead to a ceasefire agreement that undermines Ukraine's territorial integrity.
The Ukrainian leader argued that any resolution with Russia should not simply halt hostilities but should secure a fair outcome for Kyiv.
Newsweek has reached out to spokespersons from both Ukraine and Russia for comment via email.
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