Putin ready to full ceasefire in exchange for Ukraine leaving Donetsk region - WSJ
Russian President Vladimir Putin (photo: Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin told US President’s special envoy Steve Witkoff that he would agree to a full ceasefire if Ukraine withdrew its troops from the entire eastern part of the Donetsk region, according to the Wall Street Journal.
According to the newspaper’s sources, Putin presented the administration of US President Trump with a radical ceasefire proposal for Ukraine, in particular demanding significant territorial concessions from Kyiv and pushing for global recognition of his claims in exchange for ending hostilities.
WSJ writes that the proposal concerns the Donetsk region. In such a case, Russia would control both the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized in 2014 and wants recognized as sovereign Russian territory.
Steve Witkoff himself, during talks with European officials, explained that the Russian proposal included two stages.
In the first stage, Ukraine would have to withdraw from the Donetsk region, and the front lines would be frozen. This would be followed by a second stage, in which Putin and Trump would agree on a final peace plan, which would later need to be coordinated with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
A Ukrainian official who took part in the conversation with Trump on Wednesday said that Kyiv does not reject any proposals in principle, but a ceasefire would be a prerequisite for any further steps.
As part of this proposal, according to sources, the Russian president promised that his government would pass a law committing not to attack Ukraine or Europe.
Peace deal
On August 6, it became known that Witkoff visited Moscow. There, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the possibility of ending Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Afterwards, US President Donald Trump informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about this meeting, and the Ukrainian leader suggested that Russia is currently more inclined toward a ceasefire.
Today, Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that American and Russian officials are preparing an agreement to freeze the war.
At the same time, Trump himself stated today that a possible peace plan envisions returning part of the territories to Ukraine and a mutual land exchange with Russia.
