Ukraine has 5 main demands for a war settlement, including a lasting truce before any territorial exchange, reparations from Russia, security guarantees, and the return of prisoners and children. This is reported by POLITICO, according to UNN.
Ukraine wants an agreement that will include meaningful security guarantees, not just allow Trump and Putin to unite to reintegrate Russia into the global economy. This will only allow Putin to strengthen Russia for new offensive actions. Kyiv is skeptical about what will come out of Alaska
The publication lists Ukraine's main strategic interests that it wants to protect in any negotiations with Russia:
- a lasting truce before any territorial exchange;
- payment of reparations;
- security guarantees;
- return of Ukrainian children and prisoners of war;
"Trump must not save Russia"
According to the publication, the American side is proposing the idea that Ukraine should give up the eastern territory of Donbas in exchange for Putin stopping his troops from further occupying southern Ukraine.
Trump himself believes that a "territorial exchange" is necessary to achieve peace. Ukraine's position is that it will not make any concessions regarding its borders, guaranteed by international law and its own constitution.
If Kyiv is eventually forced to make certain compromises as part of a final agreement, based on the realities on the battlefield, then it will discuss territorial issues only after Russia agrees to a truce and adheres to it
It is noted that the part of Donetsk region that is under Ukraine's control has strong defenses, and therefore withdrawing from Donetsk region could weaken Ukraine's ability to repel future Russian attacks.
As for compensation for damages, they are estimated to be between $500 billion and $1 trillion.
Ukraine is firmly convinced that Moscow must pay for its crimes, and has some leverage, as a significant portion of Russia's assets are held by close European allies. Almost 200 billion euros are in Belgium
Ukraine also believes that membership in NATO and the European Union is the only long-term way to stop another Russian aggression, but Trump has ruled out Ukraine's NATO membership (which several other skeptical member states quietly supported), and Moscow wants a categorical commitment from the alliance never to accept Ukraine.
In addition, as part of security guarantees, Ukraine rejects Moscow's demands to reduce its 900,000-strong army, and to reduce arms supplies from Ukraine's allies.
European partners, who finance the needs of Ukrainian troops and buy weapons from Kyiv, including the US, are the only security guarantee Kyiv has today. The US offers only mediation in the war, hinting that it may eventually abandon this role as well. The balance has already shifted in favor of Europe, as Trump is cutting military support for Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, Europe has provided at least 73.9 billion euros in military aid, while the US has provided 64 billion euros - and new American commitments under Trump have stopped, according to data from the Kiel Institute's Ukraine Support Tracker
Regarding the return of children and prisoners, almost 20,000 children were taken to Russia, of which only 1,453 have been returned.
The exchange of prisoners of war is going better - it is becoming a rare success achieved through Trump's mediation. Since his mediation efforts began, both sides have exchanged more than 2,000 prisoners, but thousands remain in captivity, and Russia does not even allow international human rights organizations to visit all places where Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are held.
Kyiv and its European allies want sanctions pressure to be maintained, warning that lifting primary and secondary sanctions and allowing trade to resume will give Moscow time to regroup for another attack to complete the conquest of Ukraine. They will also try to convince Trump that the threat of new US sanctions will force Putin to negotiate more seriously
Recall
The idea of a virtual meeting with US President Donald Trump before his meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is that Europe and Ukraine will define the boundaries they will not cross, obliging Trump to adhere to them. Europeans want to prepare Trump for a meeting with Putin, and advise him not to act hastily.