At the Alaska summit on Friday, Russian president Vladimir Putin demanded that Ukraine withdraw from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as a condition for ending Russia’s war. He also told US president Donald Trump that he could freeze the rest of the front line if his core demands were met. The Financial Times has reported this, citing four people with direct knowledge of the talks.
In exchange for moves on Donetsk and Luhansk, Putin said he would freeze the front line in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where his forces occupy large swathes of land, and not launch new attacks to take more territory.
Russian forces control most of Donetsk, but its westernmost chain of cities remains under Ukraine’s control and is critical to its military operation and defences along the eastern front.
A sliver of the westernmost part of Luhansk is controlled by Ukraine’s forces. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been clear about his red line: he has said he will not give Putin any territory still under Ukraine’s control, but sources close to him have said he will discuss territory.
