Putin made maximalist claims to Ukrainian territory in Trump summit: Sources
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Trump and Putin at the summit. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty
The peace terms that Russian President Vladimir Putin laid out in his summit with President Trump included that Ukraine withdraw entirely from two of its eastern regions, two sources briefed on the call told Axios.
Why it matters: Trump will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday in Washington. He also told European leaders in a post-summit call that he wants to arrange a trilateral summit with Putin and Zelensky as soon as next Friday, the sources said. But based on Putin's conditions, a major breakthrough appears unlikely.
- Trump also invited the European leaders on the call to join Monday's White House meeting, the sources said.
Breaking it down: Trump and his special envoy Steve Witkoff briefed Zelensky and the leaders of the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Finland, NATO and the European Commission on Putin's positions last night on their flight back to Washington.
- They said Putin had demanded that Ukraine cede two of the four regions to which Russia has laid claim (Donetsk and Luhansk), and freeze the front lines in the other two (Kherson and Zaporizhzhia). Russia controls nearly all of Luhansk, but only about three-quarters of Donetsk.
- Putin presented his willingness to stop pushing forward in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as a concession, in exchange for Ukraine withdrawing from Donetsk, one source briefed on the call said. In reality, Russia hasn't made any progress in those areas for some time.
- A Ukrainian source said the U.S. side had the impression Putin was willing to negotiate over the small slivers of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions under Russian control.
Between the lines: This proposal calls for significantly more territory to shift from Ukrainian to Russian control than vice versa — something Moscow might argue is reasonable, as Russia has the upper hand militarily, but which Ukraine would almost certainly reject.
- Putin also requested that the U.S. recognize Russia's sovereignty in the parts of Ukraine it would gain under a peace deal, according to the source.
- Trump called the meeting a success and said he and Putin agreed on most issues, though Putin appears to have stuck to most of his maximalist demands.
The intrigue: Putin did say he was willing to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, the source said. But he mentioned China as one of the possible guarantors, possibly suggesting he would oppose a security force consisting of NATO troops.
- Ukraine and its European backers have been discussing the idea of a "coalition of the willing" standing behind Ukraine to prevent a future Russian invasion.
- Ukraine was encouraged by the fact that Trump endorsed the idea of security guarantees for Ukraine in the post-summit call, according to a Ukrainian official, who said the matter was not discussed in detail.
- Trump has said this wouldn't be a NATO mission, but Ukraine hopes the U.S. will participate in some fashion. The official said the matter would be discussed further during Zelensky's White House visit.
What to watch: Trump told Zelensky and the other participants in the call that he wants to hold a trilateral summit "fast," as early as August 22, two sources told Axios. Putin has not publicly committed to such a meeting.
