Newsweek, August 2025
Ukrainian President Zelensky may have some red lines on concessions as he considers negotiations to reach an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, analysts told Newsweek. Zelensky met with President Donald Trump and other European leaders at the White House on Monday to discuss potential peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. World leaders have for years sought to reach a deal to end the bloody conflict, but Zelensky and Putin have remained divided on key points to reach a ceasefire to end the conflict.
Security guarantees from the West, Ukrainian membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and territorial issues are among the key obstacles to a peace deal. Putin has pushed for maximalist concessions from Ukraine, including Russian control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and no NATO membership for Ukraine. Those terms, however, would be difficult for Zelensky to accept. While Ukrainian support for continuing the war has dropped, according to some polls, Ukrainian leadership is unlikely to end the war under Putin’s conditions, foreign policy analysts told Newsweek.
