SRINAGAR: Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine surrender full control of Donetsk as a condition to end the ongoing war, during a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump last week, The Washington Post reported.
Putin’s insistence on capturing the strategically vital eastern region underscores his continued pursuit of longstanding territorial goals, despite repeated military setbacks over more than a decade. The demand, according to the officials, signals that the Kremlin is not softening its stance even as Trump expresses optimism about brokering a peace deal.
Russia and Russian-backed separatists have claimed parts of Donetsk since 2014 but have failed to seize the entire region. The latest demand marks a continuation of Moscow’s efforts to legitimise its hold over occupied territories following the 2022 full-scale invasion.
Trump has yet to comment publicly on Putin’s demand. After meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday, Trump refrained from endorsing Russia’s request and instead called for an end to hostilities. “It is time to stop the killing and make a deal,” he wrote on social media, urging both sides to “claim victory” and “let history decide.”
According to The Washington Post, Putin indicated in the call that he might be willing to relinquish parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, two other partially occupied Ukrainian regions, in exchange for complete control of Donetsk. US officials described this as a modest shift from his earlier demands during an August summit in Anchorage, which they viewed as limited progress.
European diplomats, however, dismissed the offer as disingenuous. “It’s like selling them their own leg in exchange for nothing,” one senior European official told the paper.
Neither the White House nor the Kremlin responded to requests for comment.
Trump’s administration is now preparing for a follow-up meeting between the US and Russian presidents in Budapest in the coming weeks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading preparations for the summit, which Kyiv has cautiously welcomed, the report said.
During his meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly pressed the Ukrainian side on whether it would consider ceding Donetsk, citing its predominantly Russian-speaking population, a justification Kyiv and European leaders have rejected as a Kremlin talking point.
Ukraine, facing another harsh winter amid ongoing attacks on its energy infrastructure, has endorsed Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire along current front lines as a precursor to wider peace talks. However, officials in Kyiv privately acknowledge that Russia is likely to retain de facto control of occupied areas and are seeking strong Western security guarantees to prevent further aggression.
Trump, who recently secured a ceasefire deal in Gaza, said he aims to end the Ukraine conflict without deploying long-range Tomahawk missiles, despite earlier discussions to provide the weapons. Asked whether Putin was buying time, Trump replied that he was not concerned, saying, “I’ve been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well.”
