Ukraine is urging for a ceasefire, while reports suggest that Russia is offering concessions

On Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that Ukraine is prepared to engage in discussions with Russia in any format, contingent upon the establishment of a ceasefire. Meanwhile, the Financial Times revealed that President Vladimir Putin has proposed to suspend Russia’s invasion at the current front lines.

Both parties are striving to show progress towards concluding Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, which has now entered its fourth year, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated he might withdraw from peace efforts if no significant advancements are made.

Zelenskiy stated, ‘We are prepared to acknowledge that following a ceasefire, we are willing to meet in any format to avoid dead ends,’ during a press briefing at the presidential office in Kyiv. He emphasized that discussions regarding the terms of a peace agreement should only commence once hostilities have ceased, noting that reaching a consensus on all matters swiftly would be unrealistic.

The Ukrainian president mentioned that his delegation would be authorized to negotiate a full or partial ceasefire during talks with European and U.S. officials in London on Wednesday, following last week’s meeting in Paris. Concurrently, the White House announced that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will travel to Russia later this week for discussions with Putin.

According to sources cited by the Financial Times, Putin suggested during a meeting with Witkoff in St. Petersburg earlier this month that he would be willing to halt the invasion along the front line and abandon claims to full control over four Ukrainian regions.

Russia currently only partially controls the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions, which it claimed during the full-scale invasion. Putin has publicly insisted that Ukraine withdraw its forces from areas in these regions held by Kyiv.

The Financial Times noted that this proposal marks the first formal indication from Putin since the early months of the war that Russia might reconsider some of its more extreme demands, with European officials briefed on U.S. efforts suggesting that Russia’s apparent concession could be a strategic negotiating maneuver.

On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported, citing sources familiar with the discussions, that Washington had suggested recognizing Russia’s annexation of Crimea and establishing a ceasefire along the war’s front lines as part of a potential agreement. The Crimean peninsula, which Russia took from Ukraine in 2014, is not included in the four regions mentioned in Putin’s proposal as reported by the Financial Times.

President Zelenskiy has consistently stated that Ukraine will not acknowledge Russia’s occupation of Crimea and other territories, as this would contravene the nation’s constitution. Nevertheless, he has indicated that Ukraine might regain control of these areas through diplomatic means over time, rather than through military action.

According to the Washington Post, the U.S. presented these proposals to Kyiv during a meeting with Western nations in Paris last week. Additional contentious issues that hinder the peace process include the Kremlin’s demand for Ukraine to adopt a formal stance of neutrality and refrain from joining the NATO military alliance.

Ukraine also seeks the deployment of an international force to ensure the enforcement of the peace agreement, providing a security guarantee against any further Russian aggression, a condition Moscow has repeatedly rejected.

In a notable shift, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not participate in the discussions in London, as confirmed by a State Department spokesperson on Tuesday, who noted that Washington’s envoy to Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, would be present instead.

Last week, Trump and Rubio indicated that Washington might withdraw from its peace initiative unless significant progress was made within days. On Sunday, Trump expressed hope for a deal to be reached this week.