Putin offers to halt invasion of Ukraine along current front line – FT

According to sources from the media outlet, Putin told US President’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, that Russia could abandon its claims to four Ukrainian regions.

According to FT, since then, the US has reportedly proposed a peace settlement option that includes recognizing Crimea as Russian and acknowledging Russia’s effective control over parts of four Ukrainian regions.

This could be the first sign that Putin is willing to scale down his demands to end the war. However, European officials, aware of US efforts to end the war, warn that it could be a trap to pressure Trump into accepting other Russian terms and imposing them on Ukraine. One of them said that Kyiv is being pressured to make concessions, so Trump could declare victory.

As the outlet writes, Ukrainian officials were supposed to meet with representatives from Europe and the US in London tomorrow to discuss the latest proposals. However, Witkoff and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to American and European officials, have backed out of the meeting. Still, it is expected that Trump's envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, will attend. Witkoff is likely to visit Moscow later this week.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the FT that intense work was underway and that they were in talks with the Americans. He mentioned that the work was complex and time-consuming, making it difficult to expect immediate results, and emphasized that this work could not be conducted publicly.

Ukrainian officials told FT that they support some of Trump’s ideas but did not specify which ones. Among the US proposals are the deployment of European peacekeepers and non-NATO troops in Ukraine to monitor ceasefire compliance along more than 1,000 km of the front line. They would work alongside Ukrainian and Russian forces on both sides of the frontline.

According to media reports, as part of a potential deal, Ukraine would agree not to use force to reclaim Russian-occupied territory, while Russia would agree to halt the slow advance of its army. However, it is unclear whether Trump has officially asked Ukraine to recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed his stance on the Crimean peninsula, stating, "Ukraine does not recognize the occupation of Crimea. This is our territory, the territory of the Ukrainian people, there is nothing to discuss here."

It is noted that Russia has also rejected some US proposals, including the military presence of NATO countries in Ukraine. However, people familiar with the matter say that Putin might be willing to give up his previous demand for full control over the four frontline Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia — if the US makes broader geopolitical concessions to Moscow, such as recognizing its control over Crimea and banning Ukraine from joining NATO.

Moreover, Trump likely wants a ceasefire to be in place by April 30, so he can proudly claim he accomplished his peace mission within the first 100 days of his presidency.

Peace talks

In March, a meeting between the US and Ukrainian delegations took place in Saudi Arabia, where the United States proposed a full ceasefire with Russia. This was followed by two more rounds of negotiations between the US and Kyiv.

These meetings led to further talks between the US and Ukraine, as well as between the US and Russia, aimed at ending the war. However, throughout this time, Russia did not make any concessions and only put forward its own conditions, which the Ukrainian side refused to accept.

Recently, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the United States would cease its efforts to mediate a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine within a few days unless clear signs emerged that a deal could be reached.

Amid these developments, Putin announced a so-called Easter ceasefire, which Russia itself subsequently violated. Moreover, President Zelenskyy suggested extending the ceasefire, but Putin responded that the idea required further consideration.

More on the US plans to end the war can be found in the full report by RBC-Ukraine.