Dayo Ade Olusola|M10News| World News|16 August, 2025
Vladimir Putin reportedly told Donald Trump he was prepared to relax some of Russia’s territorial demands in Ukraine in exchange for securing control of the eastern Donetsk region, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The paper, citing four people with direct knowledge of the discussions, said the Russian president suggested he could freeze the broader frontline if his core demands were met.
As part of the proposal, Putin is said to have offered to halt further advances in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where fighting remains intense, in return for international recognition of Moscow’s hold over Donetsk.
Such an arrangement would effectively cement Russia’s control of an area it first occupied through proxy forces in 2014, before launching its full-scale invasion eight years later.
Sources close to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the FT that Ukraine would not accept ceding Donetsk, but indicated Kyiv could be open to broader talks with Trump should negotiations move to Washington.
The reported proposal comes as questions intensify over how the war might be brought to an end, with Ukraine insisting that any settlement must guarantee its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Russia currently occupies about 88% of the Donbas region, which includes Donetsk and neighbouring Luhansk. While Moscow controls the entirety of Luhansk, Ukrainian forces still hold around a quarter of Donetsk — roughly 6,600 square kilometres.
In recent months, Russian troops have concentrated their efforts on advancing deeper into Donetsk, seeking to capture the last major cities under Kyiv’s control. The region has been at the centre of some of the fiercest battles of the war.
The roots of the dispute stretch back to 2014, when Russian-backed separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk declared so-called “people’s republics” and seized territory from the Ukrainian government. Moscow formally recognised them as independent states in February 2022, days before launching its invasion.
Western governments have repeatedly rejected any settlement based on territorial concessions, warning that rewarding aggression would set a dangerous precedent.
Editing by M10News International Desk | Contact: international@m10news.com
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