Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview that Moscow will seize full control of Ukraine’s Donbas by force unless Ukrainian troops withdraw — a demand Kyiv has flatly rejected as unacceptable. The comments underscore the widening gap between battlefield realities and diplomatic efforts to end nearly four years of war.
“Either we liberate these territories by force of arms, or Ukrainian troops leave these territories,” Putin told India Today in remarks broadcast on Russian state television ahead of a visit to New Delhi. The Donbas — the Donetsk and Luhansk regions — has been the main theater of fighting since 2014 and remains a central item in any peace negotiations.
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About 5,000 square kilometers of Donetsk province remain under Ukrainian control, and Kyiv has repeatedly said it will not “gift” its territory to Moscow. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia should not be rewarded for a war it started and stressed that any diplomatic window must be backed by pressure on Moscow.
The remarks came as U.S. envoys met in the Kremlin with Putin to discuss a U.S.-backed outline for a potential peace settlement. The delegation, led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, reported no breakthrough after late talks, and the Kremlin said portions of the U.S. proposal were unacceptable — even though it includes Ukraine ceding some parts of the eastern Donbas it still holds.
Former President Donald Trump, whose envoys held the Kremlin meeting, said afterward that the delegation’s impression was that Putin “would like to end the war.” Trump added that Ukraine had “pretty well” backed the U.S. proposal, remarks that Kyiv has not fully confirmed.
U.S. envoys were due to brief Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, in Florida. Zelensky said Kyiv would work constructively with partners but insisted any peace must be “dignified” and accompanied by continued international pressure on Russia.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Moscow’s recent battlefield advances strengthened its negotiating position. The Kremlin also reported that its negotiators remain willing to continue talks but indicated that issues such as Ukraine’s ties to NATO remain major sticking points.
Western capitals warned of the risk that bilateral U.S.-Russia talks could produce outcomes that leave European partners sidelined. NATO leaders pledged continued military support for Ukraine, and the alliance said it wants Kyiv to be in a stronger position if talks advance.
Beyond the battlefield and diplomacy, Kyiv on Wednesday accused Moscow of sending thousands of abducted Ukrainian children for “re-education” to facilities inside occupied territory, Belarus, Russia and, it alleged, North Korea. Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, cited testimony that some children were sent to a summer camp on North Korea’s east coast; Kyiv says nearly 20,000 children have been forcibly relocated since 2022.
Russia has acknowledged moving some children, saying it was for their safety and that reunifications are ongoing; Ukraine rejects that account. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in 2023 over the alleged deportation and transfer of children to Russian-controlled territory.
With fighting continuing along eastern front lines and diplomacy producing fits and starts, the fate of Donbas and thousands of displaced civilians — including children — remains a central, urgent test for any negotiated settlement.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
