Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has no intention of giving back the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts to Ukraine in exchange for the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbas.

Source: The Washington Post

Details: A source familiar with the negotiations revealed that Russia had proposed that Kyiv cede Donbas in Ukraine’s east, which includes Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, in exchange for a ceasefire, but without offering anything else in return.

The Kremlin does not wish to give back the territories in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, where Russian military gains have provided Moscow with a valuable land bridge to occupied Crimea, the source added.

A former senior Kremlin official has said that Russia is moving towards a compromise, signalling a willingness to agree to a ceasefire.

Quote from the former Russian official**:** “Politically it is easier [for the Kremlin] to continue the war until Ukraine’s final collapse than to make peace. This is why they are clinging on to the idea that there needs to be a temporary but not permanent truce – and then in the meantime [Ukrainian] elections can be conducted.”

Background:

Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced that he will hold a meeting with Putin in Alaska on 15 August.The US president said that a peace agreement on the Russia-Ukraine war should be expected to include “some swapping of territories”.In response, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy firmly stated that Ukrainians “will not gift their land to the occupier”.

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