Washington — Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly urged Ukraine to surrender the eastern region of Donetsk during a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week, according to officials briefed on the exchange. The demand, first reported by The Washington Post, underscores Moscow’s insistence on territorial concessions as a condition for ending the war, now approaching its fourth year.
Trump, speaking in an interview with Fox anchor Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, signaled that any prospective peace deal would likely allow Russia to retain some of the land it has seized since its 2022 invasion. “Well, he’s gonna take something,” Trump said. “I mean, they fought, and he has a lot of property. He’s won certain property.” The remarks appeared to confirm earlier suggestions from the White House that the administration is exploring a negotiated settlement that could involve Ukrainian territorial compromises.
The phone call between Trump and Putin came just a day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington for a high-stakes meeting at the White House. Zelensky, who has pressed for long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses, proposed a deal under which Kyiv would provide advanced drone technology to the United States in exchange for the missiles. Trump was noncommittal, citing the need to maintain U.S. munitions stockpiles. “We’d much rather have them not need Tomahawks,” he said. “We’d much rather have the war be over, to be honest.”
While the White House described the discussions as “constructive,” U.S. officials have given no indication that Washington will approve the sale of Tomahawks to Ukraine. The Kremlin has not confirmed details of Putin’s reported demands, though Russian officials have publicly said that Moscow’s position remains unchanged: that peace can only come if Ukraine recognizes Russia’s control over occupied territories.
Putin’s request coincides with renewed Russian offensives in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow claimed to have captured three additional villages near Donetsk over the weekend. Ukrainian officials disputed those claims, insisting that Russian forces remain largely on the defensive. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone strike on a gas processing facility in Russia’s Orenburg region sparked a fire and temporarily disrupted operations, in what Kyiv called part of its campaign to degrade Russia’s energy infrastructure.
In Europe, the planned Trump-Putin summit in Budapest has prompted mixed reactions. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán welcomed the meeting as “great news for the peace-loving people of the world,” while EU diplomats warned against any agreement that might legitimize Russian territorial gains. The European External Action Service has urged member states to support tougher inspections of Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, accusing Moscow of using the vessels to evade sanctions and fund its war effort.
Trump has presented himself as a dealmaker capable of ending the conflict swiftly, even as his shifting tone toward both Kyiv and Moscow has drawn scrutiny from allies. On the streets of the Ukrainian capital, frustration was evident after Zelensky’s meeting with the U.S. president ended without the promised missiles. “Ukraine won’t get those missiles,” said Roman Vynnychenko, a Ukrainian serviceman. “Every day civilians and soldiers die, buildings collapse, our streets and cities are being destroyed.”
Despite the setbacks, Zelensky expressed cautious optimism, telling NBC News that “it’s good that President Trump didn’t say ‘no,’ but for today, didn’t say ‘yes.’ We keep talking.” As the war drags into another winter and U.S.-Russian diplomacy tentatively resumes, the path to peace remains uncertain — but for the first time in months, both sides appear willing to test whether words can succeed where weapons have failed.
