As the contours of a final US peace proposal remain murky, Ukraine’s top brass appears to be reluctantly “compromising”.
As he approaches the 100-day mark of his second term in office, which usually sets the tone, U.S. President Donald Trump is stepping up pressure on Russia and Ukraine to end the three-year-old conflict in exchange for significant territorial concessions.
U.S. envoy Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Friday and held further peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he had met three times previously, Interfax reported. Moscow and Washington are currently in a fragile period in their relations, which have only eased since Trump’s return to the White House in January.
Video released by the Kremlin showed Vitkov and Putin shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries before sitting on either side of a white oval table. “The next few days will be very important. The meetings are going on,” Trump told reporters on Thursday. “I think we’re going to reach an agreement …… I think we’re very close.”
So far, the Kremlin has been treating the U.S.-led talks, which the three negotiated last month to broker a limited and poorly executed cease-fire on energy infrastructure while avoiding Trump’s mainly aimed at the Ukrainian leadership – for its hesitancy and insistence on clear security guarantees throughout the talks – with a “friendly intransigence.” Anger. The Washington leader has repeatedly criticized Ukrainian President Zelensky for overestimating his influence in the conflict and negotiations, as well as for ignoring the possibility of a U.S. demand that Ukraine give up Crimea earlier this week.
But earlier this week, Russian attacks on Kiev intensified after a brief lull over the Easter holiday, prompting Trump to take a rare swipe at Putin on Thursday. Writing on his Truth Social social media platform, Trump said, “I am not happy with Russia’s attack on Kiev.” The White House leader added: “Unnecessary and very bad timing. Vladimir, stop!”
In another press conference, Trump said, “I don’t like that, I’m not happy that we’re putting a lot of pressure on Russia and Russia knows it.”
Trump’s frustration has been compounded by slow progress in U.S.-led peace diplomacy efforts, and Washington has signaled that it may be on the verge of abandoning the Russia-Ukraine peace effort. On Wednesday, talks between British, French, German, Ukrainian and U.S. officials scheduled to take place in London were downgraded after U.S. Secretary of State Rubio and of Witkoff pulled out.
The contours of a final U.S. peace proposal remain murky, although some media reports have suggested that the latest U.S. framework offers Russia U.S. recognition of Moscow’s sovereignty over Crimea, the lifting of sanctions that have been in place since 2014 and Ukraine’s abandonment of its ambitions to join NATO’s military alliance, which has long been a key Russian goal.
In return, Ukraine would receive much-coveted security guarantees against further Russian offensives, as well as parts of Kharkiv oblast – one of four oblasts annexed by Russia in a conflict that lasted three years – and reconstruction assistance.
If these conditions materialize, they would signal a sharp shift in tone in Ukraine, where the country’s leadership has consistently ruled out territorial concessions.
U.S. Vice President Vance said earlier this week that peace “broadly speaking requires both sides to say: we’re going to stop the killing, we’re going to freeze the territorial boundaries at some level near where they are today.”
He elaborated, “I think the line that will ultimately be drawn in the conflict will be the current line, or very close to the current line. Of course, that means that both the Ukrainians and the Russians will have to give up some of the territory that they currently have. There will be some territorial swaps.”
Zelensky this week refuted the claims of giving up sovereign territory, stating flatly, according to the translation, “Ukraine does not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea. There is nothing to talk about. It’s beyond the scope of our constitution.” But Ukraine’s top brass seemed more reluctantly open to the possibility.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kiev, said in an interview, “One of the options is …… to give up the territory, which is not fair, but for the sake of peace, temporary peace, maybe this can be a solution.”
