Trump-Putin Alaska Summit: Russian peace deal focuses on Donetsk, Luhansk in Ukraine

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, reportedly discussed a potential peace deal at their Alaska summit, which could see Moscow relinquish small occupied territories while Kyiv cedes larger tracts of eastern Ukraine, including the strategically crucial Donetsk and Luhansk regions that Russia has failed to capture, sources told news agency Reuters.

The account surfaced a day after Trump and Putin met at an Alaska airbase, the first meeting between a US president and the Kremlin leader since before the Ukraine war began.

Also read | Trump-Putin Alaska meeting: Why it matters | Prof Swaran Singh explains

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to travel to Washington on Monday (August 18) to discuss with Trump a possible settlement of the full-scale war, which Putin launched in February 2022.

Though the summit did not yield the ceasefire he sought, Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that he and Putin had discussed land swaps and security guarantees for Ukraine, reaching what he described as “broad agreement.”

Moscow offers territorial deal

On the surface, at least some of the demands would be nearly impossible for Ukraine’s leadership to accept. Putin has ruled out a ceasefire until a comprehensive agreement is reached, rejecting a key condition of Zelenskyy, whose country faces daily Russian drone and missile strikes.

Under Moscow’s proposal, Kyiv would pull out of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions in exchange for a Russian pledge to halt advances along the southern front lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, sources said.

Kyiv has ruled out surrendering territory, insisting that positions in Donetsk, where its forces are entrenched, are vital to shielding the country from deeper Russian incursions.

Russia is willing to relinquish limited areas it occupies in the northern Sumy and northeastern Kharkiv regions, about 440 square km in total, according to Ukraine’s Deep State mapping project. By contrast, Ukraine still controls roughly 6,600 square km in Donbas, comprising Donetsk and Luhansk, which Moscow claims as its own.

Putin seeks Crimea recognition

While the Americans have not confirmed it, sources said they understand that Russia is seeking at least formal recognition of its sovereignty over Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014. It was not clear if that meant recognition by the US government or, for instance, all Western powers and Ukraine. Kyiv and its European allies reject formal recognition of Moscow’s rule in the peninsula.

Sources said Putin would also seek the removal of at least some sanctions on Russia, though it was unclear whether this included US as well as European measures.

Also read | Russia-Ukraine war: Trump hints at territory swap; Zelenskyy rejects it outright

Trump said on Friday he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil, which is subject to a range of Western sanctions, but might have to “in two or three weeks.”

Ukraine’s NATO bid in peril

Ukraine would also be barred from joining the NATO military alliance, though Putin seemed to be open to Ukraine receiving some kind of security guarantees, the sources said.

However, they added that it was unclear what this meant in practice. European leaders said Trump had discussed security guarantees for Ukraine during their conversation on Saturday and also broached an idea for an “Article 5”-style guarantee outside the NATO military alliance.

NATO regards any attack launched on one of its 32 members as an attack on all under its Article 5 clause.

Joining the Atlantic alliance is a strategic objective for Kyiv that is enshrined in the country's constitution.

Russia seeks language, church rights

Sources said Russia would also push for official recognition of the Russian language in parts of Ukraine and for the Russian Orthodox Church to operate freely.

Ukraine’s security agency accuses the Moscow-linked church of abetting Russia’s war on Ukraine by spreading pro-Russian propaganda and housing spies, something denied by the church, which says it has cut canonical ties with Moscow.

Also read | Trump moves away from ceasefire, now wants Russia-Ukraine peace deal

Ukraine has passed a law banning Russia-linked religious organisations, of which it considers the church to be one. However, it has not yet started enforcing the ban.

Why Donetsk holds the key

The Donetsk and Luhansk regions, collectively known as the Donbas, have been central to Russia’s ambitions since 2014. Ukraine’s positions in Donetsk remain crucial to its defence lines, and giving them up would force the displacement of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians while giving Russia greater leverage for future offensives.

Recent Russian advances near Dobropillia have intensified pressure on the front. While Ukrainian officials described the movements as minor infiltration, local sources warned of growing vulnerabilities after months of sustained attacks. Reinforcements have now been dispatched.