President Vladimir Putin’s conditions for ending the war in Ukraine include a written pledge from Western leaders to halt NATO’s eastward expansion and to lift key sanctions against Russia, according to three Russian sources familiar with ongoing negotiations.
US President Donald Trump, who has expressed a desire to end the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two, has recently grown increasingly critical of Putin. On Tuesday, Trump warned that the Russian leader was “playing with fire” by refusing to commit to ceasefire talks with Kyiv, despite making territorial gains on the battlefield.
Following a phone call with Trump lasting more than two hours last week, Putin reportedly agreed to begin working on a memorandum outlining a potential peace framework, including a ceasefire timeline. Russia says it is currently drafting its version of the memorandum, but the duration of the process remains uncertain.
Kyiv and its European allies accuse Moscow of intentionally delaying peace talks to consolidate gains on the battlefield, particularly in eastern Ukraine.
“Putin is ready to make peace but not at any price,” said one senior Russian source familiar with high-level Kremlin deliberations, who requested anonymity.
The three Russian sources said Putin is demanding a formal, written guarantee from major Western powers that NATO will not expand further eastward. This would effectively bar future membership for Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and other former Soviet republics. Russia is also seeking a neutral status for Ukraine, partial lifting of sanctions, the unfreezing of Russian sovereign assets held abroad, and protections for Russian-speaking populations within Ukraine.
According to one source, should Putin fail to secure a peace deal on his terms, he aims to demonstrate through military victories that any future peace offer will be harsher.
The Kremlin has not responded to Reuters’ request for comment. However, Putin and other Russian officials have long insisted that any peace agreement must address what they describe as the “root causes” of the war—chief among them NATO enlargement and Western military support for Ukraine.
Kyiv maintains that Russia should have no veto over its NATO ambitions, and insists that it requires robust Western security guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s administration did not respond to a request for comment.
NATO, which currently includes 32 member states, has consistently upheld its “open door” policy and has not indicated any intention to amend it in response to Russian pressure. The alliance also declined to respond to Reuters’ questions.
The war began in February 2022 when Putin ordered tens of thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine, following eight years of conflict between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region.
Russia currently controls nearly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory. Despite its recent battlefield advances, the prolonged conflict has come at a high cost for both nations, with mounting casualties and economic strain.
Putin is reportedly concerned about Russia’s wartime economic outlook, as inflation remains high, interest rates have risen, and labour shortages persist. Oil prices—central to the Russian economy—have also fallen steadily this year.
Though Trump has previously praised his rapport with Putin and expressed belief in the Russian president’s willingness to negotiate peace, he has now warned that the US could implement additional sanctions if Moscow continues to delay efforts toward a settlement. On Sunday, Trump wrote on social media that Putin had “gone absolutely CRAZY” following a major aerial assault on Ukraine.
A Kremlin source said that if Putin sees an opening for further battlefield advances, he will pursue it—believing Russia can sustain the war for years, regardless of sanctions or economic hardships.
A second source added that Putin has become increasingly uncompromising regarding territorial demands, reaffirming his aim to retain all four eastern Ukrainian regions claimed by Russia.
“Putin has toughened his position,” the source said.
Reuters
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