Putin Demands Ukraine Cede Donetsk In Trump Talks, Offers Frontline Freeze: Report

Last Updated:August 16, 2025, 20:08 IST

Vladimir Putin tells Trump Ukraine must withdraw from Donetsk to end Russia's war, offering to freeze the frontline if demands are met.

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin told US President Donald Trump that Ukraine must withdraw from the eastern Donetsk region as a condition for ending Russia’s war, offering in return to freeze the remainder of the frontline if his core demands are met, Financial Times reported citing people in the know.

The proposal was made during Vladimir Putin’s meeting with Donald Trump in Alaska following which the US President relayed the message to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in a call, urging them to drop efforts to secure a ceasefire from Moscow, it was reported.

What Vladimir Putin Told Donald Trump In Alaska Talks

Under Vladimir Putin’s offer, Russia would take full control of Donetsk- a region it has partially occupied for more than a decade and where its forces are advancing faster than at any time since November- while halting offensives in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. However, Vladimir Putin reiterated his broader demands to “resolve the root causes" of the conflict, which would end Ukraine’s statehood in its current form and reverse NATO’s eastward expansion. Russian forces currently control about 70% of Donetsk but Ukraine still holds a chain of key western cities critical to its eastern defenses.

Donald Trump publicly urged European leaders to abandon ceasefire negotiations and push for a “Peace Agreement" directly with Russia. “If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin," Donald Trump posted on Truth Social. The Kremlin said Putin and Trump did not discuss a three-way meeting with Zelenskyy.

European leaders reacted with concern, having previously been alarmed when Donald Trump floated the idea of land swaps as part of a peace deal. French President Emmanuel Macron told Donald Trump during Saturday’s call that Vladimir Putin “could not be trusted", citing Russia’s failure to honor the 2014–15 Minsk ceasefire agreements.

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Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

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