23.08.2025 06:07
The four demands that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made to Ukraine for a final peace agreement have emerged. According to sources close to the Kremlin, Putin is asking Ukraine to cede the entire Donbas region to Russia, abandon its goal of joining NATO, remain neutral, and ensure that Western troops do not enter Ukraine.
After the summit held on August 15 in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the security guarantees for Ukraine discussed in Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders remain on the agenda.
PUTIN'S DEMANDS FROM UKRAINE REVEALED
Three sources close to the Kremlin, speaking to the Reuters news agency, evaluated the details of the Alaska summit and Putin's demands from Ukraine. According to the unnamed sources, Putin has a total of four demands. These are: Ukraine must cede the entire Donbas region in the east to Russia, Kyiv must abandon its goal of joining NATO, remain neutral, and Western troops must not enter Ukraine.
HE GAVE UP ON 2 OF THE 4 REGIONS HE WANTED FROM UKRAINE
The report recalled that Putin wanted the complete abandonment of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia, which he claims are part of Moscow as of June 2024, but the Kyiv administration rejected these conditions. In the new proposal, it was stated that Putin is willing to recognize the Donbas region, which only includes Donetsk and Luhansk, as Russian territory in exchange for freezing the current front lines in Zaporizhia and Kherson. It was also reported that the Russian leader is willing to return small occupied areas in the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
HE ALSO SEEKS A COMMITMENT FROM NATO
The report also mentioned that Putin is demanding a legally binding commitment from NATO that there will be no further eastward expansion and that he is quite insistent on this. It was also conveyed that he is seeking an agreement to limit the Ukrainian army and to ensure that Western troops do not enter Ukraine even under a peacekeeping framework.
ZELENSKY SEES DONBAS AS A "FORTRESS"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who frequently expresses that he will not give Ukrainian territory to Moscow as part of an agreement, reportedly sees Donbas as a "fortress" that prevents Russia from advancing further.
PUTIN IS AWARE OF THE ECONOMIC COST
On the other hand, a fourth source speaking to Reuters stated that Putin is aware of the economic fragility of Russia and the high financial burdens that further advances into Ukrainian territory would bring.