The United States is pressing Kyiv to withdraw from sections of the Donbas region that remain under Ukrainian government control, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP, describing the request as “deeply odd” and closely aligned with Moscow’s position after nearly four years of war.
According to the official, American negotiators have repeatedly conveyed that Ukraine “must pull back” from territories Russia has failed to seize militarily since its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Kyiv has rejected the proposal outright.
“It is quite strange that the Americans are adopting the Russian stance on this issue,” the Ukrainian official said, warning that such concessions would legitimise territorial revisionism at a moment when European leaders fear strategic disengagement by Washington.
High-level talks in Berlin
Fresh US–Ukraine negotiations are taking place today in Berlin, following a five-hour round on Sunday. President Volodymyr Zelensky is attempting to persuade Washington that any ceasefire should be agreed without territorial preconditions.
US envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading the Trump administration’s diplomatic initiative, offered few specifics but wrote on X that “a great deal of progress” had been made across “in-depth discussions on the 20-point peace plan, economic programmes and more.” Further talks are scheduled this morning.
Later tonight, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will host a meeting with several European leaders to coordinate positions ahead of any US-Russia-Ukraine proposals. Zelensky will also meet senior German officials, attend a bilateral economic forum and deliver joint statements with Merz.
European unease about concessions
European governments have grown increasingly concerned that Washington may push for a deal that rewards Moscow’s maximalist demands. Officials in multiple capitals fear President Donald Trump could effectively sideline Europe from discussions concerning the continent's security architecture.
Like Kyiv, many EU leaders oppose granting any territorial gains to the Kremlin as a precondition for peace. They argue that such moves would embolden further Russian coercion and leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attacks.
Images released by the Ukrainian presidency on Sunday show Zelensky meeting Merz, Witkoff and Jared Kushner, with the US envoy and Zelensky embracing and smiling. Merz wrote on X that “difficult questions” lie ahead, stressing that “Ukrainian interests are also European interests.”
Zelensky, speaking before Sunday’s negotiations, said Washington had not yet responded to the version of the peace proposal amended jointly by Kyiv and the EU. He emphasised that Ukraine could accept discussion on freezing the current front line but not the de facto annexation of the entire Donbas, as demanded by Moscow and reportedly entertained in US drafts. “I would like the Americans to support us on this point,” he said.
Kremlin position
In Moscow, spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Ukraine’s exclusion from NATO remains a “cornerstone” of Russia’s demands and a subject of dedicated negotiation. He added that the Kremlin expects a briefing from the United States after the Berlin talks with Europeans and Ukrainians on the emerging settlement framework.
President Vladimir Putin has insisted Ukraine must renounce NATO ambitions, withdraw from roughly 10 percent of the Donbas region it still controls, remain formally neutral and prohibit the deployment of NATO troops on its territory.
Parallel US diplomacy on Gaza
Alongside the Ukraine portfolio, Witkoff and Kushner today briefed EU foreign ministers via videoconference on President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, at the request of France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.
The briefing, confirmed by an EU official, comes as Washington attempts to advance separate ceasefire arrangements in the Middle East while negotiating its most ambitious diplomatic file: a settlement to the Ukraine war that satisfies Kyiv, Moscow and divided Western allies.