A proposal indicating a partial retreat from his initial claims was reportedly left on the table by Bladimir Putin at his meeting in the Kremlin with Stiv Whitkov, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, in order to agree to an immediate end to hostilities in Ukraine. The key condition calls for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the eastern Donbass region, while Moscow will retain control of Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea.

Putin conveyed his proposal to Witkoff during a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday. Specifically, the Russian proposal calls for a complete ceasefire if Ukraine withdraws its military forces from the entire eastern province of Donetsk. Although Russia controls the majority of the region, Kiev still holds significant parts of it.

Under the draft, Russia would retain control of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, as well as Crimea, which it has annexed since 2014. According to the information cited by the medium, the Russian president is showing a flexibility in the negotiations, leaving the territories occupied by Russian troops in Herson and Zaporizhia.

The proposal – if an agreement is reached – would be implemented in two phases: first, Ukraine would withdraw from Donetsk and the front lines would be “frozen”. In a second stage, Putin and Trump will agree on a final peace plan (probably in Alaska on August 15), which will then be discussed with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Reservations of Europeans and Ukrainians

Some Ukrainian and European officials have expressed strong reservations, saying the Kremlin’s move is aimed at avoiding the sanctions and tariffs that Trump had announced he would impose if no deal is reached by Friday.

Zelensky has indicated he is willing to discuss the territory issue only if Russia accepts a full and unconditional ceasefire. A Kiev official involved in Wednesday’s phone call between the Ukrainian president and Trump reportedly said the government did not reject the proposal in principle, but made an immediate cessation of hostilities an absolute condition.

Trump, speaking a week ago on Newsmax, had warned that he was prepared to impose sanctions on Russia if there was no deal, although he acknowledged that Putin “knows how to avoid sanctions.” The US president expressed frustration as he said he believed three times in the past that he had reached an agreement with the Russian leader, but the situation on the ground was changing dramatically.

“I spoke several times with Putin and we had excellent talks. Then, I come back and learn that a bomb has fallen in Kiev and other cities, killing civilians. I thought we had agreed three times, but maybe he wants to take everything. I think it will be very difficult for him,”he said.