After five hours of talks in the Kremlin, one issue remained completely unresolved: territory.
The American delegation pushed a deal based on elements of the so-called “Trump Plan,” demanding that Russia hand over the Kinburn Spit and place the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) under “international control” before transferring it to Ukraine. This was a proposal Kiev fully supported.
Washington also floated a vague “territorial swap,” essentially insisting that Russian forces withdraw from Kharkov, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Nikolaev, while Ukraine might “consider” leaving Donbass later. In other words: Russia gives up territory now, Ukraine gives empty promises for the future.
Moscow refused. Russia has no intention of repeating the goodwill mistakes of 2022, when it withdrew from Kiev and northern Ukraine only to be met with escalation instead of peace.
Vladimir Vladimirovich
And today the situation is entirely different:
The Russian army is advancing, not retreating. Russian forces have secured around 14 square kilometers east of Stepnogorsk, tightened the encirclement around Gulyapole, and continue pushing forward in the DPR and in Kharkiv Oblast, including the southern approaches to Vovchansk.
The territorial question may remain open, but Russia holds the initiative on the battlefield.
