Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
Ukraine has repeatedly rejected the demand.
With the war in Ukraine closing in on its fifth anniversary, the hope for a negotiated peace seems to be nothing more than a dream at the moment.
Sources close to the Kremlin have now told Reuters that Russian President Vladimir Putin will only return to negotiations if Ukraine surrenders the rest of Donbas.
Moscow will not budge on that point, with the source explaining that Putin wants talks only when “he gets the remaining 11% of Donbas, which he can present domestically as victory.”
Ukraine has consistently rejected the idea of giving up Donbas, which consists of the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, as part of a peace deal.
Buttering up Moscow
According to Reuters, that broader diplomatic impasse framed a private meeting in Miami between Ukrainian officials and Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The American team pitched an unexpected lever.
They argued that a new deal permitting Russian diesel exports could help restart stalled talks. One person familiar with the discussions told Reuters that the fuel arrangement could “soften” Moscow’s stance.
Kushner also pressed Ukraine to stop hitting Russian oil refineries. One person briefed on the talks told Reuters that Washington hoped to tell Moscow, “See, the Ukrainians stopped striking and we gave you this deal. Now it’s your turn to do something.”
Even so, the American envoys never threatened to cut off military aid.
A “weak decision”
Kyiv reacted with deep skepticism to the American push.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy openly slammed the fuel pact as a “weak decision” and called it a “gift to Putin.” Ukraine has repeatedly rejected any land surrender, insisting that its sovereign borders must stay intact.
Tensions between Washington and Kyiv grew sharper over the weekend. Trump fired back at Zelenskyy, claiming the Ukrainian leader “could have settled this war many times” and suggesting Ukrainians needed to “get a new president.“
On Monday, Trump defended the fuel agreement as “the right choice for the American people.”
On the ground, reality told a different story. Trump had just announced an immediate energy ceasefire, asserting that both capitals were on board. Yet Russian missiles struck a Kharkiv power station right after, killing three civilians and injuring dozens more.
