Vladimir Putin has reportedly offered to pause the war in Ukraine at the current battle lines, but some believe this could be a trick to get Donald Trump to agree to more of Russia’s demands.
According to a source speaking to The Guardian, Putin made this offer during talks with Trump’s associate, Steve Witkoff. The source said it’s unclear what else Putin might want in return, and the offer to freeze the fighting could just be bait to get the U.S. on board with a deal more favorable to Russia.
Putin claims he wants a real peace deal that addresses what he calls the “root causes” of the conflict. One of Russia’s major concerns is the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO, something Putin strongly opposes. He also continues to challenge Ukraine’s right to govern itself, showing a desire to expand Russian influence beyond its own borders.
Last month, Ukraine agreed to a proposed 30-day ceasefire after talks with the U.S., and Putin publicly said he was open to the idea. However, he also expressed doubts, questioning whether Ukraine would use the break to restock weapons or prepare for more fighting.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded by saying that Putin doesn’t really want peace and is just afraid to admit it to Trump. He strongly rejected the idea of giving up any Ukrainian land to Russia, calling that suggestion completely unacceptable.
There have been reports that the Trump team suggested a peace deal that would allow Russia to keep control over parts of Ukraine it has already taken. Zelensky flatly turned this down, saying Ukraine would not hand over its territory.
U.S. officials are starting to lose patience. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that if no real progress is made soon, the U.S. might stop trying to negotiate peace altogether. Vice President JD Vance backed this up, saying the current proposal is fair and would freeze the fighting where things stand now. He also made it clear that both sides need to accept the deal quickly or risk losing U.S. support entirely.
Donald Trump has also said that the war needs to end and claimed that peace talks are reaching a critical point.
Reportedly, the U.S. proposal includes several major points: Ukraine would be allowed to join the European Union but not NATO, sanctions against Russia would be lifted, and the U.S. and Russia would start doing more business together.
Despite these efforts, even a short ceasefire has proven hard to achieve. Both sides are still actively fighting along a 620-mile frontline. Some of Ukraine’s European allies are uneasy about the U.S. idea of trading land for peace. They also acknowledge that Russia already controls all or parts of five regions in Ukraine: Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.
A top French official, speaking anonymously, said that if the goal is to stop the fighting right away, then maybe the ceasefire should happen based on the current frontlines.
Meanwhile, hopes for major progress at a diplomatic meeting in London have dimmed. The U.K. government still sees this as an important week for peace talks, even though the meeting was downgraded after Marco Rubio suddenly canceled his appearance.
Experts in the West believe Russia is in no hurry to make peace, as its forces currently have the upper hand and may want to take more Ukrainian land before any final deal is made.
