Putin Tells U.S. He’ll Halt War in Exchange for Eastern Ukraine
The proposal prompted the Trump administration to begin preparing for a summit with the Russian leader, but European officials expressed skepticism over its viability
Aug. 8, 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin presented the Trump administration this week with a sweeping proposal for a cease-fire in Ukraine, demanding major territorial concessions by Kyiv—and a push for global recognition of its claims—in exchange for a halt to the fighting, according to European and Ukrainian officials.
European officials expressed serious reservations about the proposal, which would require Ukraine hand over Eastern Ukraine, a region known as the Donbas, without Russia committing to much other than to stop fighting. The offer, which Putin conveyed Wednesday to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow, set off a diplomatic scramble to get further clarity on details of the proposal.
European and Ukrainian officials, who were briefed by President Trump and Witkoff in a series of calls this week, said they worry Putin is simply using the offer as a ploy to avoid punishing new U.S. sanctions and tariffs while continuing the war.
Trump said Wednesday the Russian leader’s offer wasn’t a breakthrough, but was enticing enough to begin organizing a summit meeting as soon as next week. The proposal could signal a shift away from Russia’s previous demands for full Russian control of regions along the entire front line, which extends beyond the Donbas.
Putin told Witkoff he would agree to a complete cease-fire if Ukraine agreed to withdraw forces from all of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, according to officials briefed on the call. Russia would then control Donetsk, Luhansk, as well as the Crimea peninsula, which it seized in 2014 and wants recognized as sovereign Russian territory.
Russia now occupies most of Donetsk and Luhansk, but Ukrainian forces still control sizable chunks of territory, including key cities that are now strongholds of its defense.
In a series of calls this week, Europeans sought to get clarity on a key aspect of the proposal—what would happen in the southern regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson, where Russian troops also control some territory. Officials who were briefed by the Trump administration on calls Wednesday and Thursday came away with conflicting impressions about whether Putin intended to freeze the current front lines or eventually pull out of those regions entirely.
Key regions on the Ukrainian front line
Russian forces in Ukraine
Belarus
Russia
Poland
Kyiv
Luhansk
Ukraine
Donetsk
Zaporizhzhia
Mol.
Kherson
Romania
Crimea
100 miles
100 km
Note: As of Aug. 7
Source: Institute for the Study of War and AEI's Critical Threats Project
Andrew Barnett/WSJ
Trump himself participated in the first call, along with Witkoff, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The same officials, without the president, took part in the second call on Thursday, joined by Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg.
In a third call on Friday, Witkoff told European officials that the Russian proposal included two phases, according to two European officials. In the first phase, Ukraine would withdraw from Donetsk and the battle lines would be frozen. That would be followed by a second phase, in which Putin and Trump would agree on a final peace plan that would later be negotiated with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the officials said.
A Ukrainian official who participated in the call with Trump on Wednesday said that Kyiv wasn’t opposed to any proposals in principle, but that a cease-fire would be a prerequisite for any further steps.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and his national security team are discussing “potential paths to peace” with their Ukrainian and European counterparts after the Putin-Witkoff meeting. “Out of respect for our sensitive diplomatic discussions with Russia, Ukraine, and our European allies, the White House won’t comment on alleged details in the news media.”
The Kremlin didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment.
Ukrainian and European officials have long rejected officially recognizing Russian control over seized territory. Ukraine’s constitution also prohibits Zelensky from unilaterally authorizing territorial changes.
Zelensky has previously said he would only discuss territorial issues after Russia agreed to a full and unconditional cease-fire, a point Ukrainian officials have repeatedly emphasized.
The proposal didn’t directly address Ukraine’s quest for security guarantees, including near-term membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. As part of the proposal, Putin said his government would pass legislation pledging not to attack Ukraine or Europe, a claim European officials have received with deep skepticism.
Putin’s gambit appeared to be designed in part to ratchet up domestic pressure on Zelensky, as many Ukrainians want the war to end but are also opposed to surrendering big chunks of territory. The proposal could now shift pressure onto Kyiv to negotiate a deal and help Moscow sidestep new U.S. sanctions.
Trump’s deadline for Russia to agree to a cease-fire expired Friday. While he imposed 50% tariffs on India, a major importer of Russian oil, he may hold off on other punishments as negotiations proceed.
“We’re going to see what he has to say,” Trump said of Putin when asked whether the deadline was firm. “It’s going to be up to him.”
Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, including against civilian infrastructure in Kyiv. Russia has more than doubled the number of missiles and drones it has fired monthly into Ukraine since January when Trump took office.
Early Friday, the Russian military bombed Bucha—the site of a massacre of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians by Russian forces in 2022 as they withdrew from the region.
Witkoff told European allies on multiple phone calls this week that the offer demonstrated genuine movement by Putin toward peace, even if a final deal could look different from the proposal outlined by the Russian leader.
Some European leaders have expressed cautious optimism that Trump’s diplomatic efforts could yield results. “Perhaps a freezing of the conflict—I don’t want to say the end of the war, but a freezing of the conflict—could happen sooner rather than later,” Polish President Donald Tusk said on Friday. “There is hope for this.”
The Russian government said Friday that Putin had discussed his Witkoff meeting with the leaders of India, China, Belarus, South Africa and other nations, while Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov spoke to his counterpart in Turkey, a NATO member.
Write to Bojan Pancevski at bojan.pancevski@wsj.com, Alexander Ward at alex.ward@wsj.com and Robbie Gramer at robbie.gramer@wsj.com