Ukraine rejects US proposal to redraw Donbas borders
Kyiv rejected a U.S. proposal to narrow Donetsk and Luhansk boundaries on paper, saying it would hand Moscow a symbolic victory.
Ukraine has rejected a U.S. proposal to redraw the administrative borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, saying the plan would allow Moscow to claim control over much of the Donbas without actually capturing cities still held by Ukrainian forces.
Proposal aimed to align borders with front lines
Under the proposal, the official boundaries of the two regions would be narrowed on paper to follow the lines of combat, and territories remaining under Kyiv’s control would be removed from the formal definition of the Donbas. Critics say that would hand Vladimir Putin a symbolic victory.
The initiative was presented by special envoys of Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who sought to circumvent Moscow’s demand that Kyiv cede some 5,000 square kilometres of territory that Russian forces have not managed to take on the battlefield.
Kyiv dismissed the idea outright. “The Ukrainian delegation never discussed concessions over the occupied territories. Ukraine will never recognise that, neither de facto nor de jure. That has always been our position at the table,” said an unnamed source from the Ukrainian negotiating team.
Ukrainian officials say they will not accept any arrangement that effectively rewrites administrative borders to accommodate an occupying power. The rejection underscores the depth of disagreement over territorial issues that remain the main obstacle to a negotiated settlement.
Photo: press material from the event
