Russia Demands Ukraine Cities It Doesn't Control as Part of Trump Deal: ISW

 

Russia is demanding control over Ukrainian cities it does not currently occupy as part of a potential deal with former U.S. President Donald Trump to end the ongoing war, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Washington and Moscow are reportedly engaged in discussions aimed at resolving the three-year-long conflict—talks from which Kyiv has been excluded.

Observers have expressed concerns that Trump, who has vowed to end the war, could negotiate an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin that pressures Ukraine to abandon its NATO aspirations and surrender its occupied territories, effectively conceding to Moscow’s demands.

According to the ISW, Russia is seeking control over cities it has little chance of capturing militarily, raising fears that any settlement could further erode Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Trump has indicated that both sides must make concessions, but Kyiv has rejected any suggestion of ceding land. Meanwhile, Putin has insisted that Ukraine renounce its NATO ambitions and surrender the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

The Washington D.C.-based think tank pointed out that Russia is demanding control over major cities in these regions that remain under Ukrainian authority.

"The full occupation of these four oblasts would include cities such as Kherson (pre-war population: 275,000), Kramatorsk (147,000), and Zaporizhzhia (706,000), none of which Russian forces currently hold or have a realistic prospect of capturing," the ISW stated.

Granting Russia control of these areas would place approximately one million Ukrainians under Russian rule, the ISW warned.

"The occupation of such large population centers would exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Russian authorities have already employed oppression, displacement, and forcible assimilation tactics in occupied areas, and they would likely extend these abuses to civilians in newly seized territories," the think tank said.

In an article for the Atlantic Council published on January 7, Serhii Kuzan, chairman of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center, argued that the Kremlin’s proposed peace framework is more likely to set the stage for the next phase of Putin’s effort to erase Ukraine’s independence entirely.

Wayne Jordash KC, president of the human rights organization Global Rights Compliance, emphasized the dire situation in Ukraine in a statement to Newsweek.

"Ukraine is facing one of its most significant challenges since Russia's full-scale invasion began three years ago. From Kherson to Kharkiv, civilians are displaced, lacking food, medical care, electricity, and gas," Jordash said.

He also pointed out that over 130,000 Russian war crimes have been documented, including thousands of civilians killed, injured, arbitrarily detained, tortured, or subjected to sexual violence.

"If Russia gains more territory and Ukraine loses international support, the outcome is clear—more Ukrainian men, women, and children will be killed. Continued Western support is critical for Ukraine to exercise its right to self-defense under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter," he added.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on February 22 that Trump is confident a deal on the war in Ukraine could be finalized as early as this week.