In a high-stakes diplomatic maneuver that risks upending delicate peace negotiations, Russian President Vladimir Putin has directly demanded that the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy relinquish full control of the entire Donetsk region as a core condition of ending the war. This was made clear during a phone conversation with President Donald Trump last week.
Putin’s insistence on annexing strategically important eastern territory of Ukraine — an area the Kremlin has failed to conquer in 11 years of brutal conflict — shows the Kremlin is not backing down from its extremist demands and could create a formidable obstacle to Trump’s optimistic push for a quick peace deal, according to a detailed report by The Washington Post, citing two officials familiar with the sensitive conversations.
The previously unreported request from the Russian leader casts a long shadow over a flurry of recent diplomatic activity, including Friday’s key White House meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky.
Putin’s focus on Donetsk, with deep roots in what the Ukrainian military sees as a major bulwark against Russia’s advance into Kiev, suggests that despite the battlefield stalemate, his strategic ambitions remain undiminished.
Russia and its proxies have claimed parts of the Donetsk region since 2014, but have never succeeded in seizing the entire territory by force. The Kremlin’s new claims in this regard underline the enormous challenges ahead of the peace summit between President Trump and President Putin, scheduled to take place in Hungary in the coming weeks.
MNA/