The US will require Russia to accept Ukraine’s right to have its own army and defense industry as part of a peace agreement between Moscow and Kiev, according to sources familiar with the matter.
US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to raise the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin in his next meeting, according to sources, who spoke on anonymous condition to discuss private negotiations.
To agree to allow Kiev to have an adequately equipped and manned army, as required by Ukraine and his European allies, would mean that Putin would have to give up his goal of demilitarization of Ukraine, one of his main declared war goals.
It is a sign that the Trump administration is looking for some Kremlin concessions, as well as Ukraine, while trying to end a war that is already in its fourth year. Critics have so far considered US proposals as inclined in favor of Russia, including the Trump government’s insistence that Ukraine gives up its aspirations to join the NATO military alliance.
The Trump government also wants Moscow to return the Ukrainian nuclear plant of Zaporizehzia, which was taken at the beginning of its large -scale invasion to the neighbor in 2022. The installation would then be under US control to provide energy to both sides, sources said. They added that the details of the plans have not yet been completed and can change.
Spokesmen of the US National Security Council, the State Department and Witkoff did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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The US also wants to ensure that Ukraine has passed over the Dnieper River and that Russia -occupied lands in the Kharkiv region are returned. Putin demanded the recognition of all the regions of Luhansk, Zaporizehzia, Donetsk and Kherson, although he failed to fully occupy them.
Russia has continued to bombard Ukrainian cities, even with negotiations in progress and insisting that it is prepared for peace. Over the day, target Kiev and killing at least 12 people.
This forced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to interrupt a visit to South Africa on Thursday. Before leaving, however, Zelensky told reporters that “we can’t talk about red lines without an unconditional ceasefire.”
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At a meeting in Paris last week, President Donald Trump’s team presented to Europe and Ukraine a proposal to end the war, which would also lead the US to recognize the Ukraine Crimea region as a Russian, while freezing most other occupied territories over the current battle lines, leaving them effectively under the control of Moscow, said the Bloomberg News previously.
Crimea was taken by Kremlin in 2014 after an invasion and a subsequent referendum performed under occupation, and the international community has resisted to recognize the peninsula as a Russian to avoid legitimizing illegal annexation. Zelensky repeatedly stated that he will not give Moscow territory.
Trump said in a publication on the Social Truth this week that no one was asking Zelensky to recognize Crimea while attacking the Ukrainian President and accused him of damaging peace negotiations with Russia. On Thursday,.
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“I am not satisfied with the Russian attacks on Kiev. Unnecessary and at a very bad time,” Trump said in a truth social publication on Thursday. “Vladimir, stop! 5,000 soldiers are dying a week. Let’s conclude the peace agreement!”
“I think we have an agreement with Russia. We have to reach an agreement with Zelensky. I hope Zelensky… I thought it would be easier to deal with Zelensky. So far, it has been harder,” Trump said later on Wednesday at the Oval Hall.
The US indicated that any peace agreement would need security guarantees for Ukraine to ensure that the agreement remains, without specifying exactly how such guarantees would be. They also proposed to suspend the sanctions against Moscow if there is an agreement.
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The United Kingdom and France have led the efforts to form a postwar “security force” in Ukraine, but the US has not offered to contribute to the initiative or to provide military aid to Kiev in the future, some of the sources said. Additional options to ensure an agreement could include a non -European peace force, some of the same sources added. Russia has said it will not accept troops from NATO countries in Ukraine.
Trump and other American authorities have warned that they will abandon negotiations if an agreement is not reached soon.
“Now, if for some reason one of two parts makes it very difficult, let’s just say, ‘You’re foolish, you are foolish, you are horrible people, and let’s just ignore it,” Trump said at the White House last week. “But I hope we don’t have to do that.”
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