The Russian president has already decided on his demands to end the conflict in Ukraine. According to what three sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters, Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to relinquish the entire eastern Donbass region, to renounce its ambitions to join NATO, and for Ukraine to remain neutral and keep Western troops out of the country.

"Putin is ready for peace and compromise. That's the message that was conveyed to Trump," said one of the sources, who also warned that it's unclear whether Ukraine is willing to cede the Donbass, but assured that if it doesn't, the war will continue.

This information comes almost a week after Putin met with Donald Trump in Alaska, a summit that lasted about three hours. In the press conference following the meeting, the Russian leader stated that the meeting would open a path to achieving peace in Ukraine.

Putin appears to have dropped the territorial demands he put forward in June 2024, which called for Kyiv to give up Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

This Thursday, Zelensky made it clear:"If we're talking about simply withdrawing from the east, we can't do that. It's a matter of our country's survival, involving the strongest defensive lines."

Kyiv's priorities remain NATO membership, already enshrined in the constitution, which contradicts Putin's conditions. The Ukrainian president has repeatedly emphasized that NATO membership is a decision that rests solely with the Ukrainians, not Russia.