Russia Reiterates Demand for Full Ukrainian Withdrawal from Regions Claimed by Moscow

AUTHOR: M.J. GDNUS

Russia stated today that its position on ending the war in Ukraine has not changed since President Vladimir Putin laid out his conditions last year: the complete withdrawal of Kyiv’s forces from key Ukrainian regions and the abandonment of NATO ambitions.
Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump are set to meet on Friday in Alaska, at the first U.S.-Russia summit since 2021, to discuss efforts to end the war. Trump has said that both sides will need to exchange some of the territory they currently hold in order to make that happen.
Russia currently controls 19% of Ukraine, including the entire Crimean Peninsula, all of Luhansk region, over 70% of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, as well as parts of Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
After reports in some media that Washington believes Putin may be ready to compromise on territorial demands, Russian Deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexei Fadeyev, when asked whether Russia's position had changed, responded: “Russia’s position remains unchanged, and it was stated in this very room just over a year ago, on June 14, 2024,” Fadeyev said, referring to the speech Putin gave at the ministry at the time.
In what were his most detailed public statements so far on a potential deal, the Kremlin chief at that time laid out demands including the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the parts of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson still under Kyiv’s control.
Putin also said that Kyiv must formally notify Moscow that it is abandoning plans to join the U.S.-led NATO military alliance and intends to remain neutral and non-aligned.
In addition, Putin stated that the rights and freedoms of Russian-speaking citizens in Ukraine must be guaranteed, along with the “reality” that Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson are now part of Russia.
He insisted that his conditions must be confirmed in international agreements. When he presented these demands in 2024, Ukraine dismissed them as a meaningless ultimatum.
Ukraine has repeatedly stated that it will never recognize Russia’s occupation of its territory, and most countries recognize Ukraine’s borders as defined in 1991. According to current front lines, Putin’s demand would mean Ukraine handing over an additional 21,000 square kilometers to Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia must agree to a ceasefire before talks on territorial issues can begin. He has rejected any Russian proposal for Ukraine to withdraw its troops from eastern Donbas and abandon its defensive lines.