Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The message, delivered in a private communique, signals little hope for peace, or even a ceasefire, in the near future.
A week ago, a day before U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Trump unexpectedly held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The call was arranged shortly beforehand at the Kremlin’s initiative, and observers believe it was a Russian attempt to dissuade Trump from supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles.
After the phone call, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he and Putin planned to meet face-to-face in the Hungarian capital, Budapest — only for those plans to be put on hold earlier this week.
So what happened, since the summit has now been put on ice? Well, Russia may simply have asked for too much.
The “non-paper”
According to Reuters, two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the matter said that Russia sent the United States a “non-paper” — an informal diplomatic document — over the weekend.
Reuters reported that the communication repeated Moscow’s long-standing demand to seize full control of Ukraine’s Donbas region. One official said this stance runs counter to Trump’s view that the front lines should be frozen where they currently stand.
Trump’s latest proposal for a ceasefire is to freeze the front line in Ukraine — a plan that is being backed by both Ukraine and its European allies.
Trump weighs options
Asked about the non-paper, the White House referred reporters to Trump’s comments earlier this week.
The president said he had not yet decided whether to go ahead with the Budapest summit, stressing that he did not want a “wasted meeting.”
Still, he said he believed a ceasefire along current front lines remained achievable.
Ukrainian pushback
Behind closed doors, the peace proposals have faced resistance. At a private meeting in recent days, U.S. officials reportedly presented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with a version of a Kremlin-backed plan.
The proposal would have Ukraine surrender the Donbas region in exchange for limited areas of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
According to Reuters, Zelenskiy rejected the idea outright. Trump later stated publicly that he believed freezing the current battle lines was the best path forward.
No Tomahawks coming
Even though a second summit between Putin and Trump now seems uncertain at best, the Russian president is likely the most pleased with recent events.
During a press conference at the White House on Wednesday, Trump told reporters that he had decided not to supply Ukraine with Tomahawks.
He explained that it would take the Ukrainians at least six months to be able to use the missiles effectively.
This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, which may have used AI in the preparation
