According to two senior officials familiar with the conversation, Russian President Vladimir Putin called US President Donald Trump last week and demanded that Kyiv give up complete control of Donetsk, a strategically important area in eastern Ukraine, in order to end the war, as reported by the Washington Post.
For eleven years, Putin has attempted to take over the region, but has been repeatedly thwarted by Ukrainian forces, who are firmly established in a region they consider to be a key barrier against a rapid Russian advance westward toward their capital.
According to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss delicate private talks, Putin's focus on Donetsk indicates he is not reversing previous demands that have left the conflict in a standstill, despite Trump's confidence about striking a solution. Since 2014, Russia or rebels supported by Russia have claimed portions of the territory, although they have never been able to forcibly take control of the whole area.
Putin's demand for all of Donetsk has not been previously published, and Trump has not made any public remarks on the matter.
In his public remarks during a crucial meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the West Wing on Friday, Trump did not support the Russian request. According to the Washington Post, he intends to resume talks with Putin about how to stop the war by meeting with him in Hungary in the upcoming weeks.
"It is time to strike a DEAL and put an end to the slaughter! War and Guts have drawn property borders, and enough blood has been spilled. Wherever they are, they ought to stop. Let history decide, and let each claim victory. Following the discussion with Zelenskyy on Friday, Trump posted on social media.
According to authorities who spoke to the Washington Post, during the call between Trump and Putin, the Russian leader indicated that he would be open to giving up portions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, two other areas of Ukraine that he has partially taken over, in exchange for complete control of Donetsk.
That is a little less expansive territorial claim than the one he made during the Trump-Putin meeting in Anchorage in August. One of the two senior officials informed on the Putin call said that some White House officials characterized that as progress.
The other person, a top European diplomat, stated that Ukrainians are unlikely to think so. The diplomat remarked, "It's like selling them their own leg in exchange for nothing,"
A request for comment was not immediately answered by the Kremlin or the White House.
Over the past year of the conflict, neither side has gained a substantial advantage, and the front lines between Russian and Ukrainian forces have essentially stagnated. Approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory is under Russian control. In February 2022, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
After negotiating a ceasefire and an agreement to exchange hostages and prisoners in Gaza, Trump has redoubled his efforts to bring the war to an end. For months, the president has alternated between the Russian and Ukrainian sides of the conflict.
The meeting on Friday ended without the long-range Tomahawk missiles that Ukrainians had hoped for.
According to the officials, during the meeting on Friday, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff pressed the Ukrainian delegation about turning over Donetsk, pointing out that the area is primarily spoken in Russian, a common talking point used by the Kremlin that Ukrainian and European officials perceive as being receptive to Russia's demands.
Speaking Russian has not traditionally been seen as a sign of affinity for Moscow in Ukrainian society, and many Ukrainians, including Zelenskyy himself, were raised speaking it as their first language. Since Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, Ukrainians have shifted toward speaking Ukrainian.
Before the Anchorage conference, Witkoff served as the principal White House negotiator with the Kremlin. According to European diplomats, this resulted in a misinterpretation of Russia's requests and a lack of meaningful progress after the meeting.
The top administration official tasked with organizing the next summit with Putin in Budapest is US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which Kyiv welcomed, according to the Washington Post.
Ahead of talks for a more long-term solution to the war, Ukraine has supported Trump's demand for a truce near the conflict's present frontlines. In private, officials acknowledge that Russia is likely to maintain de facto authority over the land it has taken, and they are looking to Washington and Europeans for strong security guarantees to prevent Russia from resuming the conflict.
Russia is targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure, a strategy Kyiv has also used against its adversary, resulting in another difficult winter.
Prior to the meeting, Trump had hinted at delivering the potent Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, but after speaking with Putin on the phone Thursday, he seemed to change his mind. Trump, speaking with Zelenskyy on Friday, expressed his optimism that the war may be ended without the missiles being sent.
Trump said he was not worried when asked on Friday if Putin was attempting to buy more time.
It was "all right" if it took a little while, he added. "I've been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well," he remarked. "But I think that I'm pretty good at this stuff."
