Putin Clings to Donbas Demands, Peace Talks Falter Despite Trump’s Mediation

Putin refuses to accept outcome of U.S.-Russia summit
Disputes persist over deployment of Western peacekeeping forces
Despite U.S. mediation, both sides remain locked in confrontation

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly demanded as conditions for ending the war the cession of the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and the abandonment of NATO accession. While he has scaled back from broader territorial claims, he has held firm on demands Ukraine has consistently rejected as unacceptable. Ukraine, for its part, has insisted that “to relinquish Donbas is to relinquish survival,” maintaining a resolute stance that leaves little room for compromise.

Putin Effectively Demands Ukraine’s Demilitarized Neutralization

On the 21st (local time), Reuters, citing multiple sources, reported that President Putin had presented to U.S. President Donald Trump a proposal requiring Ukraine to surrender the entirety of Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk regions). This marks a partial retreat from his June of last year demand that included not only Donbas but also the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Alongside this, Russia signaled willingness to freeze current frontlines in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, while potentially returning parts of occupied Kharkiv and other areas to Ukraine. Russia currently controls roughly 88% of Donbas and about 73% of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

Beyond territorial issues, the two sides remained far apart. Putin continued to insist that any peace accord must include: Ukraine’s renunciation of NATO membership, legally binding guarantees against NATO’s eastward expansion, restrictions on Ukrainian military capabilities, and the exclusion of Western peacekeeping forces. Effectively, this amounts to a demand that Ukraine be transformed into a demilitarized neutral state. Trump, casting himself as a “peace broker,” expressed readiness to convene a trilateral summit, stressing that Russia had accepted certain provisions of Ukraine’s security guarantees. Yet Moscow’s intransigence rendered his mediation effectively fruitless.

Zelensky: “Withdrawal from Donbas Is Abandoning Survival”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has consistently rejected any prospect of ceding territory. “Donbas is a fortress blocking further Russian advances,” he declared. “Withdrawing from the east is tantamount to abandoning the nation’s survival.” He also underscored that NATO membership is a constitutional strategic objective, beyond Russia’s purview. In response, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and a close ally of Putin, stated on social media platform X, “As has been made clear, there will be no NATO peacekeeping force. Russia will never accept such demands.”

Clashes of rhetoric extended to the question of a summit. Zelensky asserted in a statement, “Once the contours of security guarantees are agreed, I am ready to hold bilateral talks with President Putin,” adding that the venue must be in a neutral European country, not Moscow. He also rejected Russia’s proposal to involve China as a guarantor, arguing, “China did nothing to prevent this war and instead aided Russia by opening its drone market.” In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov countered that “before signing any document, the issue of the legitimacy of President Zelensky, whose mandate has expired, must be resolved.”

As tensions escalated, Trump showed open irritation. On his Truth Social platform, he posted two photos: one of himself with Putin during their meeting in Alaska on the 15th, the other of former U.S. President Richard Nixon pointing at Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1959. Both images depict an American president seemingly chastising a Russian leader. Trump added, “It is very difficult, if not impossible, to win a war without striking the aggressor,” even hinting at the possibility of Ukraine launching further offensives against Russia.

Cession of Donbas as the Watershed of Peace Talks

Ultimately, the central issue in peace negotiations is Ukraine’s security guarantees. The United States, Europe, and Ukraine are discussing the deployment of European forces—such as those from the U.K. and France—under a trilateral committee framework. Reuters reported that “options are being considered in which European troops are stationed in Ukraine while the U.S. assumes command and control,” noting that U.S. and European military chiefs plan to present postwar security scenarios to their respective national security advisers.

Russia, however, has rejected Western-led security guarantees, seeking instead to secure veto power and influence. Lavrov emphasized that “discussing a collective security arrangement for Ukraine without Russia is futile,” adding that Russia would only accept security guarantees if major powers including China, the U.S., the U.K., and France participated equally in a comprehensive accord.

Experts argue that the fate of Donbas will serve as the decisive watershed in negotiations over Ukraine’s security. Donetsk has long been the epicenter of conflict, with its western areas still under Ukrainian control. Over the past three and a half years, Russia has suffered immense losses attempting to breach the fortified lines there, but failed each time—owing to the formidable defensive belt Ukraine has established. Should Ukraine surrender this vital line, it would lose its strongest bulwark against further Russian incursions.

This defensive belt stretches from Sloviansk in the north through Kramatorsk, extending south to Druzhkivka and Kostyantynivka. If Russia seizes this zone, Ukraine would face a security catastrophe: the front would shift 80 kilometers westward, granting Russian forces direct routes to Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, and Dnipro. In this negotiation, exchanging Donbas for security guarantees leaves Ukraine trapped in a dilemma—cede the region and forfeit security, or refuse and see the talks collapse.