Russia demands full Ukrainian withdrawal from regions Moscow claims, no NATO membership

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo of Russian service members by Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation via Wikimedia Commons

By Dmitry Antonov

MOSCOW  -  Russia said on Wednesday that its stance on ending the war in Ukraine has not changed since President Vladimir Putin set out his conditions last year: the full withdrawal of Kyiv's forces from key Ukrainian regions and the abandonment of its NATO ambitions.

Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump are due to meet on Friday in Alaska, the first U.S.-Russian summit since 2021, to discuss efforts to end the war. Trump has said both sides will have to swap some of the land they currently hold to make this happen.

Russia currently controls 19% of Ukraine including all of Crimea, all of Luhansk, more than 70% of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and slivers of the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

After reports by some media that Washington understood Putin was ready to compromise on his territorial demands, the Russian Foreign Ministry's deputy spokesperson, Alexei Fadeev, was asked by reporters if Russia's position had changed or not.

"Russia's position remains unchanged, and it was voiced in this very hall just over a year ago, on June 14, 2024," Fadeev said, referring to a speech Putin delivered then at the foreign ministry.

At that time, in his fullest public remarks so far about the shape of a possible settlement, the Kremlin chief set out demands including the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the parts of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson that they still control.

Putin also said that Kyiv would have to officially notify Moscow that it was abandoning its plans to join the U.S.-led NATO military alliance, and that it intended to remain neutral and non-aligned.

In addition, Putin said that the rights and freedoms of Russian-speakers in Ukraine would have to be ensured, and the "realities" that Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson were now part of Russia.

Putin has said his conditions would also have to be reflected in international agreements. At the time of his 2024  speech, Ukraine rejected his demands as tantamount to an absurd ultimatum. 

Ukraine has repeatedly said it will never recognise Russian occupation of its land, and most countries recognise Ukraine's territory within its 1991 borders. Based on the current frontlines, Putin's demand would entail Ukraine ceding an additional 21,000 sq km (8,100 sq miles) to Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Russia must agree to a ceasefire before territorial issues are discussed. He would reject any Russian proposal that Ukraine pull its troops from the eastern Donbas region and cede its defensive lines.

 (Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Anastasia Teterevleva; Editing by Mark Trevelyan // REUTERS)