Kremlin adviser outlines Putin’s Ukraine terms: Ukrainian withdrawal from Donbas, no NATO bid

A potential peace deal on Ukraine could include the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donbas, while Russia, in return, would pull its forces out of the Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions, Kremlin adviser Dmitry Suslov said.

A preliminary agreement would be struck by Russia and the United States without representatives of Ukraine or Europe, Suslov said in an interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera. Suslov is deputy director of the Center for European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics and a Kremlin foreign policy adviser.

If both sides pull back, the frontline elsewhere would remain where it. A key part of the deal would be a pledge by Ukraine not to join NATO, he added.

The final version would include the demilitarization of Ukraine and constitutional reform. If Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, backed by Europe, rejects it, Donald Trump would end military aid to Kyiv and halt arms sales to EU countries, Suslov said.

“This scenario will accelerate the complete collapse of Ukraine,” Suslov argued.

If a summit in Alaska succeeds and a joint plan for a ceasefire in Ukraine is approved, the American president could claim historic significance, he said.

“That’s why we expect Trump to accept Putin’s proposal,” the Kremlin adviser added.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry and the Office of the President did not comment on the reported plans to end the war.

The symbolism of choosing Alaska has sparked debate. According to Suslov, it’s significant on both historical and political levels.

“Alaska underscores the bilateral nature of the summit. There is no place more ‘Russian-American.’ Alaska is far from Europe and Ukraine, but very close to Russia. This underscores that Putin and Trump are independently seeking ways to resolve the war in Ukraine,” he said.

The Alaska summit would be the first US-hosted meeting between Russian and American leaders in 15 years. The last took place in June 2010, when former President Dmitry Medvedev visited President Barack Obama in Washington.

Beyond Ukraine, Trump and Putin will discuss the Arctic, where the risk of sharp conflict exists as Russian and US military activity increases.

Zelensky has already said that no decision will be made without Kyiv at the August 15 talks between Trump and Putin.