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Bloomberg: Russia May Exit Peace Talks If Ukraine Doesn't Cede All of Donetsk Region

Russian officials increasingly believe there's no point in continuing US-led negotiations if Kyiv isn't ready to make territorial concessions in a deal. This is reported by Bloomberg, citing sources. Sources close to the Kremlin say next week's meetings could be decisive: Russia will likely cease participating in negotiations if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky refuses to hand over the entire Donetsk region to Moscow. One source claims Russia is prepared to sign a draft memorandum on a peace agreement if Ukraine agrees to withdraw troops from the unoccupied part of the Donetsk region. This could be followed by a swift summit with Putin, Trump, and Zelensky to confirm agreements, and then a mutual withdrawal of Russian and Ukrainian forces. Bloomberg notes that the territorial issue is the most complex currently. Volodymyr Zelensky insists that the fortified areas of the Donetsk region remaining under Ukrainian control are critically important for defense. Ukraine has previously rejected Russia's demands to withdraw troops from Donbas. Kyiv insists on a ceasefire along the front line provided security guarantees from the US and Europe. One Bloomberg source claims Russia is allegedly ready to withdraw troops from Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions, and will not insist on new territorial demands in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. It is also said that Moscow could agree to a US-led ceasefire monitoring and abandon the demand to limit the size of the Ukrainian army. However, the Kremlin is not ready to accept the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine. It is separately noted that the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant also remains a subject of negotiations. The Kremlin and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.

Russia agreed to security guarantees for Ukraine from the US - Budanov

The Russian Federation has agreed to accept security guarantees for Ukraine from the USA, stated the head of the office of the Ukrainian president, Kirill Budanov, writes "Ukrainska Pravda". According to him, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations also agreed on control over the demilitarized zone in case of a cessation of hostilities. "Regarding the issue of territories – we are looking for a compromise between two absolutely polar positions. We have not fully found it yet. I hope we will find it. We don't have much time. In the end, it will be necessary to state: either we have found a solution and are ending this war, or we will continue to kill each other, which we are doing quite qualitatively and professionally," he said. The day before, Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that Russia might withdraw from peace talks if Ukraine does not cede the entire Donetsk region to it. Kyiv, meanwhile, insists on a ceasefire along the front line, provided that security guarantees are given by the USA and Europe. One of Bloomberg's sources claims that Russia is allegedly ready to withdraw troops from Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions, and will not insist on new territorial demands in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. It is also said that Moscow could agree to a US-led ceasefire monitoring and abandon the demand to limit the size of the Ukrainian army. However, the Kremlin is not ready to accept the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine.