Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded in a phone call with President Donald Trump this week that kyiv surrender full control of Donetsk, a strategically vital region in eastern Ukraine, as a condition of ending the war, two senior officials familiar with the conversation said.
Putin has tried unsuccessfully to conquer the territory for 11 years, repeatedly being repulsed by Ukrainian forces, who are deeply entrenched in an area they consider an important bulwark against a rapid Russian advance westward toward their capital.
Putin's focus on Donetsk suggests he is not backing down from previous demands that have kept the conflict at a standstill, despite Trump's optimism about reaching a settlement, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe confidential closed-door discussions. Russia or Russian-backed separatists have claimed parts of the region since 2014 but have never managed to conquer the entire region by force.
Trump has not publicly commented on Putin's demand to control all of Donetsk, something that has not been previously reported. Trump did not endorse the Russian request in his public statement Friday following a high-level White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He plans to meet with Putin in Hungary in the coming weeks to continue discussions on how to end the war.
“It’s time to stop the killing and make a DEAL! Enough blood has been spilled, with property lines defined by war and courage. They should stop where they are. Let both claim victory, let history decide!” Trump wrote on social media Friday after meeting with Zelensky.
In the call between Trump and Putin, the Russian leader suggested he would be willing to cede parts of two other Ukrainian regions he has partially conquered, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, in exchange for full control of Donetsk, according to the officials. That represents a slightly smaller territorial demand than the one he made in August during a Trump-Putin summit in Anchorage. Some White House officials viewed that as progress, according to one of the two senior officials who was briefed on Putin's call.
Ukrainians are unlikely to see it that way, said the other official, a senior European diplomat.
“It’s like selling them your own leg for nothing,” said the diplomat.
Neither the White House nor the Kremlin immediately responded to a request for comment.
The front lines between Russian and Ukrainian forces have largely stalemated over the past year of the conflict, with neither side achieving a significant advantage. Russia controls approximately 20 percent of Ukrainian territory. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Trump has renewed his focus on ending the war after reaching a ceasefire agreement and hostage and prisoner exchange in Gaza. The president has oscillated between the Russian and Ukrainian perspectives on the conflict for months.
The Ukrainians had hoped to leave Friday's meeting with long-range Tomahawk missiles, but they left empty-handed.
Officials said Trump envoy Steve Witkoff pressed the Ukrainian delegation on handing over Donetsk during Friday's meeting, noting that the region is largely Russian-speaking, a frequent Kremlin argument that Ukrainian and European officials view as favorable to Russia's demands.
Many Ukrainians—including Zelensky himself—grew up speaking Russian as their first language, and within Ukrainian society, speaking Russian has not historically been a sign of sympathy toward Moscow. Ukrainians have tended to use the Ukrainian language more in the years following Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
Witkoff was the White House's main interlocutor with the Kremlin ahead of the Anchorage meeting, which European officials said led to what they saw as a misunderstanding of Russian demands and a lack of significant progress after the meeting.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is the top administration official tasked with preparing for the upcoming Budapest summit with Putin, which was welcomed by kyiv.
Ukraine has backed Trump's call for a ceasefire on the current front lines of the conflict before negotiating a more sustainable end to the fighting. Officials privately say they accept that Russia will likely retain de facto control of the territory it has captured and are seeking strong security guarantees from Washington and the Europeans to deter Russia from restarting the war.
Ukraine faces another harsh winter with Russia attacking its energy infrastructure, a tactic kyiv has also adopted against its enemy.
Trump had considered sending the powerful Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine before the meeting, but appeared to back down after Thursday's phone call with Putin. Speaking alongside Zelensky on Friday, Trump said he hoped to end the war without sending the missiles.
Asked Friday whether Putin was stalling, Trump said he wasn't worried.
“I’ve been fooled all my life by the best, and I came out pretty good,” he said, adding that it was “okay” if it took a little time. “But I think I’m pretty good at this stuff.”
