Bad prospects for Kiev Trump and Putin talk about ceding territory from Ukraine
How do Russia and the USA envision an end to the war in Ukraine? A few days before the planned summit in Alaska on Friday, details are leaking out, and they don't look good for Kiev.
09.08.2025, 18:49
09.08.2025, 18:50
dpa
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- US President Donald Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin will meet for a summit in Alaska on August 15.
- In order to put an end to Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, there are plans to cede territory to Ukraine.
- Kiev strictly rejects this, but has not been invited to the talks.
US President Donald Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin appear to be considering large-scale cessions of territory from Ukraine as part of their plans to end the war - but Kiev is firmly opposed to this. "Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier," said President Volodymyr Zelenskyi in a video message in Kiev. "The answer to Ukraine's territorial questions is in the Ukrainian constitution. No one will deviate from it and no one can deviate from it."
According to US media reports, Putin has called for Russia to take full control of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk ahead of a summit with Trump. This would mean the Ukrainian army giving up several thousand square kilometers of territory and strategically important cities.
Reports: Moscow wants Donetsk and Luhansk completely
According to a report in the "Wall Street Journal" newspaper, Putin made this proposal during the visit of US negotiator Steve Witkoff to Moscow on Wednesday. On Friday, the White House and the Kremlin confirmed that a summit between Trump and Putin is to take place on August 15 in the northern US state of Alaska.
Russia occupied parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the coal and industrial area of Donbass back in 2014 and renamed them People's Republics. Shortly before the invasion on 24 February 2022, Moscow recognized the entities as independent and declared them Russian territory following mock referendums in autumn 2022.
In Luhansk, the Ukrainian defenders only hold a few square kilometers. But in the fiercely contested Donetsk region, the Ukrainian army still controls a quarter of the territory. The Russian army is advancing gradually, but with losses. An evacuation would mean that Ukraine would have to give up the chain of well-fortified towns of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Kostyantynivka and would then be defenceless.
Trump speaks of territorial exchange
In Washington, Trump spoke vaguely of an exchange of territories previously held by either Russian or Ukrainian troops "for the benefit of both sides". He did not give any details. "We are looking at territory that has been fought over for three and a half years." Something should also be given back.
This could involve small bridgeheads of the Russian army in the Ukrainian frontline regions of Sumy and Kharkiv. Russian soldiers also appear to have crossed the border into the Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine claims to still have soldiers in the Russian region of Kursk as a remnant of an offensive from 2024.
According to dpa, Trump also informed the European partner countries about possible barter deals after Witkoff's visit. According to media reports, it is unclear what the Russian quid pro quo could be beyond a mere cessation of hostilities. The question of security guarantees for Ukraine is equally open.
What will happen to Zaporizhia and Kherson?
The fate of the southern Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson also remains unclear. Russia has also annexed them, but only controls them in part. The wide Dnipro River separates the two sides. Russia's conquests in the south have created a land bridge to the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.
Selensky criticized the Alaska summit venue chosen by Trump and Putin. "Very far away from this war that is raging in our country, against our people, and which cannot be ended without us anyway, without Ukraine," he said. Ukraine, like the European states, fears being left out of the decisions of the major nuclear powers as the main affected party.
At the first mention of a summit, the White House had said that Trump's two-way meeting with Putin would be followed by a three-way meeting with Zelensky. Moscow, on the other hand, is inviting Trump to Russia for the second meeting - meaning that Zelensky is once again uninvited.
Trump sees obstacles with Zelensky
Trump wants to bring an end to the war. Since taking office in January, however, he has exerted pressure not on Russia as the aggressor, but on Ukraine, which is under attack. Trump's ultimatum to Putin to stop the war expired on Friday and dissolved in the preparations for the summit.
During an appearance at the White House with the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Trump interpreted the hurdles of the Ukrainian constitution as an obstacle to a solution. Selenskyj must hurry to organize political agreement in his country "because we are on the verge of a deal". However, the Ukrainian president should be given everything he needs "because he has to prepare to sign something".
The Ukrainian population is war-weary after three and a half years of non-stop Russian attacks. However, ceding territory would cause serious domestic political upheaval.
