Moscow (TDI): Russia has once again asserted that its conditions for ending the war in Ukraine remain uncompromised, demanding the full withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from territories it claims, including parts of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, as well as guarantees of neutrality and a formal renunciation of NATO membership.
Issued just days before a scheduled summit between President Vladimir Putin and former US President Donald Trump in Alaska, the announcement underscores Moscow’s unwavering stance.
In addition to territorial concessions, Russia insists that the status of Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson be enshrined as part of Russia internationally, coupled with protections for Russian-speaking populations within Ukraine.
Russia’s briefing places the onus on Kyiv to retreat from an estimated 21,000 square kilometers of additional land beyond areas currently under occupation. Only then, the Kremlin suggests, might it consider peace talks and a ceasefire, assuming Ukraine also commits to neutrality and NATO abstention.
Ukraine, however, is defiantly rejecting these demands. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has categorically dismissed proposals for territorial swaps, especially those involving Donbas, stressing that Ukraine will not concede land without a ceasefire, credible security guarantees, and its own participation in negotiations.
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Kyiv emphasizes that any border discussions must occur only after hostilities have ceased. European leaders echo this position. In a high-level virtual meeting in Berlin, with Trump, Zelenskiy, and leaders from Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Poland, Finland, the EU, and NATO, attendees voiced deep concerns that a US-Russia agreement could undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty.
They reiterated that peace negotiations must respect Ukraine’s right to participate and avoid any land-for-ceasefire concessions not based on mutual agreement and a cessation of violence.
As of August 2025, Russia controls roughly 114,500 square kilometers, about 19% of Ukraine’s territory, covering nearly all of Luhansk, around three-quarters of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, plus smaller swaths in Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk.
With the Alaska summit looming on August 15, mounting diplomatic efforts are underway to prevent a settlement that could reward aggression. But Moscow’s hardline posture suggests that, unless Kyiv agrees to ambitious territorial and political concessions, expectations for a breakthrough remain remote.
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