Anatomy of the 'most difficult' issue in the Russia-Ukraine peace talks: territory

12:51 am, December 6, 2025
Source: Meduza


President Volodymyr Zelensky says that territory remains the “most difficult” issue in the ongoing peace talks to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. Vladimir Putin says the Trump administration’s controversial 28-point plan “could serve as the basis for a final peace settlement.” He continues to insist that Ukraine withdraw from the parts of the Donbas region it still holds. Ukraine has so far refused to cede the territory, despite coming under pressure from Washington. Though the most recent meeting between Russian and U.S. negotiators failed to resolve the impasse, both Kyiv and Moscow appear to be shifting their positions to focus on territory as their main red line. Using maps, graphs, and military theory, Meduza analyzes where each side stands and what it might take to end the war.

Where has this round of peace talks left us?
The latest round of peace talks kicked off on November 19, after reports surfaced that Russia and the United States were quietly drafting a new plan to end the war in Ukraine. The 28-point proposal leaked that same day and immediately drew criticism for resembling a Kremlin “wishlist.” Two days later, Vladimir Putin said publicly that the plan could serve as “the basis for a final peace settlement.”

SNIP*
Why is a small piece of the Donbas a major point of contention?
The parts of the Donbas that remain under Kyiv’s control fall mainly within the Kramatorsk and Sloviansk agglomeration — and they hold limited strategic value, especially compared to the areas that Russia already occupies in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

The 28-point plan envisions Russia relinquishing territories it controls outside of Crimea and the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions. However, exchanging occupied areas of the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions for the remainder of the Donbas wouldn’t give the Russian army a noticeable military advantage. Kramatorsk is cut off from Kharkiv by the Severskiy Donets River, and from Dnipro by a sparsely populated, hilly plain broken up by rivers and ravines.

https://meduza.io/en/feature/2025/12/06/anatomy-of-the-most-difficult-issue-in-the-russia-ukraine-peace-talks-territory