Bloomberg published a report shedding light on the substance of talks over a possible end to the war in Ukraine. The article outlines Washington’s position, which, according to Bloomberg, was conveyed to Moscow by Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
According to four Moscow-based sources familiar with the discussions, Russia is orienting itself toward a deal that largely mirrors proposals Witkoff outlined during a visit to the Russian capital shortly before the August meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska. They say Witkoff told Putin that the United States was prepared to press Kyiv to relinquish the entire Donbas—including the Donetsk and Luhansk regions—in exchange for Russia agreeing to formalize the line of contact and drop its claims to parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions that remain under Ukrainian control.
A day before the trip to Anchorage, the sources say, Putin convened the country’s senior leadership in the Catherine Hall of the Kremlin to discuss the plan. “How do you assess this plan?” he asked officials seated before him in a semicircle. The room initially fell silent, but participants then began speaking one after another, and most, according to the sources, backed the proposal, concluding that the war should be brought to an end, Bloomberg reports.
The same article notes that Moscow is considering withdrawing from the talks if Ukraine refuses to pull its forces out of Donetsk region. Two sources close to the Kremlin said the next round of negotiations, scheduled for the coming week, would be pivotal in determining whether the sides are capable of agreeing on terms to end the war. If Volodymyr Zelensky does not make concessions, Russia is likely to halt its participation in the process.
One of the interlocutors said Moscow is prepared to sign a draft memorandum on a peace agreement on the condition that Ukrainian troops withdraw from the eastern part of Donetsk region. That, he added, could be followed by a summit at the presidential level—between Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and Volodymyr Zelensky—to formalize the agreements and initiate a mutual pullback of forces.
Russia is also open to a US-backed ceasefire monitoring arrangement, but rules out the deployment of foreign troops on Ukrainian territory and is prepared to drop its demand to cap the size of Ukraine’s armed forces. In parallel, separate talks are continuing over the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Moscow is proposing a trilateral scheme to distribute the electricity it generates among Russia, the United States, and Ukraine. Kyiv, for its part, supports a “50–50” format involving the United States, which could then share supplies with Russia.
At the same time, the territorial issue—specifically the demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donetsk region—remains the central and least flexible element of the negotiations, according to the sources.