During the summit in Alaska, President Vladimir Putin explained Russia’s conditions for ending the war in Ukraine: land swaps, an agreement that Kiev will not enter NATO, and removing bans on the Russian language and the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
Two sources speaking with Reuters explained that Putin proposed a land swap that would see Kiev withdraw from the Donbas, while Russia would remove its forces occupying northern Ukraine. Additionally, Kiev would recognize Moscow’s control over Crimea, the Donbas, and the territory held by Russia in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
The proposal is a walk-back from Putin’s previous demand that Ukraine cede all of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russia controls about half of those regions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will not cede any territory to Moscow. He has even pledged to retake Crimea, a region annexed by Russia in 2014.
Moscow is requiring Kiev to recognize the Russian language, which is widely spoken across eastern and southern Ukraine. Following the US-backed coup in the country in 2014, the new Kiev government cracked down on ethnic Russians and limited the use of the Russian language in official proceedings.
Putin’s proposal also calls on Ukraine to allow the Russian Orthodox Church to resume its teaching in Ukraine. Following the Russian invasion in 2022, President Zelensky targeted the church, claiming it was spreading Russian propaganda.
Additionally, Russia is requiring Ukraine to agree never to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said Putin was open to Ukraine receiving other unspecified security guarantees from Western countries, however.
Some European leaders have suggested deploying troops to Ukraine after a ceasefire is in place. Russia has previously rejected such proposals.
