Putin Tells U.S. He’ll Halt War in Exchange for Eastern Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin presented the Trump administration this week with a sweeping proposal for a cease-fire in Ukraine, demanding major territorial concessions by Kyiv—and a push for global recognition of its claims—in exchange for a halt to the fighting, according to European and Ukrainian officials. European officials expressed serious reservations about the proposal, which would require Ukraine hand over Eastern Ukraine, a region known as the Donbas, without Russia committing to much other than to stop fighting. The offer, which Putin conveyed Wednesday to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow, set off a diplomatic scramble to get further clarity on details of the proposal.

European and Ukrainian officials, who were briefed by President Trump and Witkoff in a series of calls this week, said they worry Putin is simply using the offer as a ploy to avoid punishing new U.S. sanctions and tariffs while continuing the war. Trump said Wednesday the Russian leader’s offer wasn’t a breakthrough, but was enticing enough to begin organizing a summit meeting as soon as next week. The proposal could signal a shift away from Russia’s previous demands for full Russian control of regions along the entire front line, which extends beyond the Donbas. Putin told Witkoff he would agree to a complete cease-fire if Ukraine agreed to withdraw forces from all of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, according to officials briefed on the call. Russia would then control the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as the Crimea peninsula, which it seized in 2014 and wants recognized as sovereign Russian territory. Russia now occupies most of Donetsk and Luhansk, but Ukrainian forces still control sizable chunks of territory, including key cities that are now strongholds of its defense.

WSJ