Moscow, : Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine hand over full control of Donetsk as a precondition for peace, during a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week, The Washington Post reported, citing two senior officials familiar with the discussion.
Putin, who has unsuccessfully tried to capture Donetsk for over a decade, reportedly sees the region as strategically vital for Russia’s push westward. His insistence on retaining Donetsk signals no major shift in Moscow’s long-standing demands, despite Trump’s optimism about brokering a deal, the officials said.
While Russia and its proxies have controlled parts of Donetsk since 2014, they have never managed to seize the entire region. Trump has not publicly commented on Putin’s latest demand.
After meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday, Trump refrained from backing Moscow’s request. He is expected to meet Putin in Hungary in the coming weeks to continue talks.
“It is time to stop the killing, and make a DEAL! Enough blood has been shed… Let both claim victory, let history decide!” Trump posted on social media following his meeting with Zelenskyy.
According to The Washington Post, Putin indicated during the call that he might concede parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — regions Russia partially occupies — in exchange for full control of Donetsk. Some White House officials viewed this as a modest step forward compared to Putin’s broader territorial demands at an earlier Anchorage summit in August.
However, European diplomats were skeptical. “It’s like selling them their own leg in exchange for nothing,” one senior official remarked.
Neither the White House nor the Kremlin has issued a response to the report. The war’s front lines have largely frozen over the past year, with Russia controlling roughly 20% of Ukraine’s territory since launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Trump has recently renewed his efforts to mediate the conflict after brokering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange in Gaza. During Friday’s meeting, Ukraine had hoped to secure Tomahawk missiles but left without a deal.
Officials said Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff pressed Kyiv to consider ceding Donetsk, citing the region’s Russian-speaking population — an argument long used by the Kremlin. Ukrainian and European officials rejected this reasoning, noting that language use does not equate to political allegiance.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now leading preparations for the upcoming Budapest summit between Trump and Putin. Ukraine has cautiously welcomed Trump’s call for a ceasefire along current front lines, while seeking firm security guarantees from the U.S. and Europe to prevent future Russian aggression.
With winter approaching, both sides are bracing for renewed strikes on energy infrastructure — a tactic used by Moscow and, increasingly, mirrored by Kyiv.
Trump reportedly considered sending advanced missiles to Ukraine but pulled back after his call with Putin. Standing beside Zelenskyy, he said he hoped to end the war without more weapons shipments.
When asked whether Putin was merely stalling, Trump replied confidently:
“I’ve been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well… I think I’m pretty good at this stuff.”
