Putin Reaffirms Demand for Ukraine’s Withdrawal from Donbas
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeated that Ukraine’s forces must withdraw from the eastern Donbas region or Moscow will take the area by force. He ruled out any compromise on how to end the conflict.
In an interview with India Today, he said, “Either we liberate these territories by force, or Ukrainian troops will leave.” Russia currently controls about 85% of the region, while Ukraine refuses to give up any land.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made it clear that he will not concede territory under any circumstances.
US Peace Plan Discussions Continue
Putin’s comments came shortly after former U.S. President Donald Trump said his negotiators believed the Russian leader “would like to end the war.” Trump called Tuesday’s talks in Moscow “reasonably good,” but noted that any progress would take time.
Following the meeting, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said Russia now awaited a response from Washington. He stressed that no new meeting date had been set and that no call between Putin and Trump was planned.
Washington’s team, led by envoy Steve Witkoff, had already drafted a modified version of the U.S. peace proposal. The original plan would have placed the remaining Ukrainian-held areas of Donbas under Russia’s de facto control. European allies had raised concerns over this initial framework.
Putin Says Talks Covered Unseen Proposal
Putin said he reviewed the updated U.S. plan for the first time during the discussions in Moscow with Witkoff and Jared Kushner. He noted that the meeting lasted longer because he needed to go through each point in detail.
“Sometimes we said we could discuss an idea, but we could not agree to others,” he said, without identifying the disputed issues.
Two major sticking points remain:
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the status of Ukrainian territory captured by Russian forces
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and security guarantees for Ukraine
Shortly after the talks, Ushakov confirmed that the meeting produced “no compromise,” and he suggested Russia felt more confident because of what it called recent battlefield gains.
Kyiv Accuses Russia of Stalling
Ukrainian officials say Russia continues to delay meaningful negotiations in order to seize more territory. Ukraine insists that any agreement must include strong and enforceable security guarantees.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybhia said Putin was “wasting the world’s time” with his negotiating tactics.
Zelensky said on Wednesday that there was now “a real opportunity to end the war,” but he stressed that progress depends on sustained pressure on Russia from Ukraine’s partners.
The Ukrainian team recently met U.S. negotiators in Geneva and made several changes to the original U.S. plan, which Kyiv viewed as too favorable to Moscow. Both sides later announced that they had prepared an “updated and refined peace framework,” though they did not release details.
European Leaders Voice Concern
According to a reported transcript obtained by Germany’s Der Spiegel, European leaders expressed alarm about the ongoing negotiations. French President Emmanuel Macron allegedly warned that the U.S. might compromise on Ukrainian territory without securing firm guarantees for Kyiv.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reportedly advised Zelensky to act “extremely carefully,” while Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Europe “must not leave Ukraine and Volodymyr alone.”
The BBC has not seen the transcript. The Élysée Palace denied that Macron used the quoted language but declined to elaborate.
White House Responds
The White House said U.S. officials, including Secretary Marco Rubio, envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, continue to work “tirelessly” to stop the violence. The statement emphasized that the team gathered feedback from both sides to shape a “durable, enforceable peace.”
Situation on the Ground
Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and currently occupies about 20% of Ukraine. In recent weeks, Russian forces have continued to advance slowly in the southeast despite heavy reported losses.
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