There have been several rounds of peace talks to end the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

since it began in February 2022. Russia's president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

seeks recognition of all occupied land as Russian, for Russia to be given all of the regions it claims but does not fully control, guarantees that Ukraine will never join NATO, and the lifting of sanctions against Russia. Ukraine's president

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

seeks a full withdrawal of Russian troops, the return of prisoners and kidnapped Ukrainian children, prosecution of Russian leaders for

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

, and security guarantees to prevent further Russian aggression. The first meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials took place four days after the invasion began, on 28 February 2022, in Belarus, and concluded without result. Later rounds of talks took place in March 2022 on the

Belarus–Ukraine border The Belarusian-Ukrainian border (, ) is the state border between Belarus and Ukraine with a length of about . It starts from the triple junction with Poland to the west and stretches to the triple junction with Russia to the east. The tripoint ...

and in

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

, Turkey. Negotiations in Turkey created an agreement in which Ukraine would abandon plans to join NATO and have limits placed on its military, while having security guarantees from Western countries, and not being required to recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea. The draft treaty was almost agreed to, but disagreements over security guarantees and the

Bucha massacre The Bucha massacre (; ) was the mass murder of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war by the Russian Armed Forces during the fight for and occupation of the city of Bucha as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photographic and video ...

ultimately halted negotiations. Renewed negotiations began in 2025 after

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

became president of the United States. Trump held a phone call with Putin on 12 February and U.S. officials met with Zelenskyy shortly after. After a U.S.–Russia summit, the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy deteriorated, culminating in a 28 February meeting between the two in which U.S. officials asked the Ukrainians to leave midway through and abandoned a planned Ukraine–U.S. mineral revenue deal. After the meeting, British prime minister

Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...

and French president

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

created a plan for a ceasefire protected by a "

coalition of the willing A ''coalition of the willing'' is a temporary international partnership created for the purpose of achieving a particular objective, usually of military or political nature. Origin The term was coined in the early 1970s by MIT professor Linco ...

" with troops in Ukraine. Starting from March, some limited truces were occasionally agreed to by both Russia and Ukraine.

Background

Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom are signatories to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum political agreement, providing security assurances to Ukraine. China and France gave somewhat weaker individual assurances in separate documents. Russia reaffirmed this assurance in 2009. After the

Russian occupation of Crimea On 27 February 2014, Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War), unmarked Russian soldiers were deployed to the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula in order to wrest control of it from Ukraine, starting the Russo-Ukrainian War. * * * * * * * This military o ...

began in 2014, Putin claimed that the

Revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity (), also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, took place in Ukraine in February 2014 at the end of the Euromaidan protests, when deadly clashes between protesters and state forces in the capit ...

had created a new political entity and any prior agreement with Ukraine was therefore void. Since the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, Russia has repeatedly engineered frozen conflicts to block the expansion of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

or the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

into the former Soviet sphere of influence. Conflicts are deemed "frozen" when fighting has stopped but no political resolution has been achieved. In 2014, Russia orchestrated separatist movements in Ukraine, and Russian proxy forces began the

Donbas war The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

. After Ukraine recovered significant territory up to August 2014, Russia intervened with conventional forces, leading to negotiated ceasefires through the

Minsk agreements The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. After a defe ...

of 2014 and 2015. These ceasefires had potential to freeze the conflict, but sporadic offensives by Russia-backed separatists continued. Although Russia was a party to the Minsk agreements, it later denied any obligations, claiming to have only been a mediator between Ukraine and separatist forces. In total, according to military analysts, Russia has broken 190 agreements signed with Ukraine and the international community. In the lead-up to the invasion, Russia's president

repeatedly attacked Ukraine's right to exist and referred to Ukraine as "historically Russian lands". In his July 2021 essay " On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians", he claimed there is "no historical basis" for the "idea of Ukrainian people as a nation separate from the Russians".Düben, B A.
Revising History and 'Gathering the Russian Lands': Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Nationhood"
'' LSE Public Policy Review'', vol. 3, no. 1, 2023 accessed 25 February 2024 On 24 February 2022, Russia began its invasion of Ukraine as an escalation of the ongoing

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

Negotiating positions

Russia

Putin outlined Russia's terms for a ceasefire and negotiations in June 2024. He said that Russia must be allowed to keep all the land it occupies, and be handed all of the provinces that it claims but does not fully control. He also said that Ukraine must officially end its plans to join NATO. Further, he demanded that the international community recognize Russia's annexations and lift their sanctions against it. Shortly before the invasion, Russia demanded an international treaty to bar Ukraine from ever joining

but also withdrawal of NATO forces from This was rejected by NATO as it would go against its "open-door" policy and the principle of

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

. NATO offered to improve communication with Russia and discuss missile placements and military exercises, as long as Russia withdrew troops from Ukraine's borders. Russia's demands at the start of the invasion included recognition of

Russia's annexation of Crimea Annexation of Crimea may refer to: * Annexation of the Crimean Khanate by the Russian Empire (1783) *Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, a ...

, recognition of the

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR; , ) is Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupied territory in Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex and declared as a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia, comprising parts o ...

and

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR; , ) is a disputed territory administered as a republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast, with its capital in Luhansk. The LPR was proclaimed by Russian-backed paramilitar ...

as independent states, as well as "

demilitarization Demilitarisation or demilitarization may mean the reduction of state armed forces; it is the opposite of militarisation in many respects. For instance, the demilitarisation of Northern Ireland entailed the reduction of British security and milita ...

" and "

denazification Denazification () was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by removing those who had been Nazi Par ...

" of Ukraine, but did not clearly say what these terms meant. Russian propaganda falsely claimed that Ukraine's government were neo-Nazis carrying out "genocide" in the Donbas. An editorial " What Russia Should Do with Ukraine", published in Russian

state media State media are typically understood as media outlets that are owned, operated, or significantly influenced by the government. They are distinguished from public service media, which are designed to serve the public interest, operate independent ...

, explained "denazification" as eradication of Ukrainian national identity. Genocide scholar Eugene Finkel said the document was an admission of intent to commit genocide against Ukrainians. It is unclear to what extent the editorial reflected official policy, but Ukrainian-Canadian diplomat Roman Waschuk said that the appearance of the editorial around the same time as the

made negotiations much harder. In September 2022,

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

reported that Putin's envoy on Ukraine

Dmitry Kozak Dmitry Nikolayevich Kozak (, ; ; born 7 November 1958) is a Russian politician who has served as the Deputy Kremlin Chief of Staff since 24 January 2020. He previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia from 2008 to 2020. He has t ...

had struck a provisional deal that would satisfy Russia's demand for Ukraine to stay out of NATO, but the plan was rejected by Putin who preferred a full-scale military invasion. After Russia declared it had annexed four regions of Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman

Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov (, ; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat serving as the Kremlin Press Secretary, spokesman for President of Russia, Russian president Vladimir Putin since 2012. In April 2023, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that he wanted any negotiations to focus on creating a "new world order" to counter the hegemony of the United States. In January 2024, Putin again made statements which suggested, according to the

Institute for the Study of War The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is an American nonprofit research group and advocacy think tank founded in 2007 by military historian Kimberly Kagan and headquartered in Washington, D.C. ISW provides research and analysis of modern arm ...

, that his "maximalist objectives in Ukraine" remained unchanged, "which are tantamount to full Ukrainian and Western surrender". He again called for the overthrow of the Ukrainian government.

Ukraine

Ukrainian president

proposed in November 2022 a 10-point peace plan, consisting of: * A ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian military forces from Ukraine * Restoration of Ukraine's borders prior to the 2014 annexation of Crimea * Release of prisoners and return of Ukrainian children deported to Russia * Protection and restoration of Ukraine's energy infrastructure * Protection of

food distribution Food distribution is the process where a general population is supplied with food. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) considers food distribution as a subset of the Food systems, food system. The process and methodology behind food distri ...

* Nuclear safety, including transfer of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the

IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

* Environmental safety, including

demining Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By cont ...

and remediation of ecological damage caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam * Prosecution of Russian war crimes * Security guarantees for Ukraine to prevent future aggression * A multilateral peace conference and peace treaty Two months before the invasion, Ukrainian Foreign Minister

Dmytro Kuleba Dmytro Ivanovych Kuleba ( ; born 19 April 1981) is a Ukrainian politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was concurrently a member of the National Defense and Security Council of Ukraine. The youngest foreign affai ...

dismissed the idea that declaring neutrality would prevent Russian aggression. He noted that Ukraine was already a neutral country in 2014 when Russia occupied Crimea and invaded the Donbas. In negotiations during March and April 2022, Ukraine was willing to consider a neutral status—wherein Ukraine would not join any military alliances or host forces of other nations on its territory—if it received security guarantees from its European allies. Reacting to Russian attacks on civilian targets later that year, Kuleba said, "There can be no 'neutrality' in the face of such mass war crimes." In August 2022, Zelenskyy said that he would not agree to a ceasefire that would freeze the conflict while Russia occupied 22% of Ukraine: "We explained that there will be no Minsk-3, Minsk-5, or Minsk-7. We will not play these games, we have lost part of our territories this way ... it is a trap". In September 2022, after Russia proclaimed it had annexed large swathes of Ukraine, Zelenskyy signed NATO application papers. Ukraine has sought security guarantees as interim measures prior to NATO accession, but there is no consensus within NATO about such an arrangement. In June 2023, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was not ready to negotiate with Russian representatives unless Russia withdrew its troops. He repeated this refusal in January 2024.

Early negotiations (2022–2024)

Initial Russia–Ukraine talks (February–May 2022)

Deputy Kremlin Chief of Staff

said in 2022 that he had negotiated an agreement with Ukraine within a few days of the invasion. This settlement would have ended hostilities in exchange for guarantees that Ukraine would not join

. The agreement was however blocked by Putin, who "expanded his objectives to include annexing swathes of Ukrainian territory". A Kremlin spokesman denied the story. The first meeting was held four days after the start of the invasion, on 28 February 2022, in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. It concluded without result. A second and third round of talks took place on 3 and 7 March 2022 on the

. A fourth and fifth round of talks were held on 10 and 14 March in

, Turkey.

First round (28 February 2022)

Ukrainian president

and Belarusian president

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...

agreed on 27 February that a Ukrainian delegation would meet with Russian officials on the Belarusian border, near the

Pripyat River The Pripyat or Prypiat is a river in Eastern Europe. The river, which is approximately long, flows east through Ukraine, Belarus, and into Ukraine again, before draining into the Dnieper at Kyiv Reservoir. Name etymology Max Vasmer notes in h ...

, without preconditions. It was reported that Lukashenko assured Zelenskyy that all planes, helicopters, and missiles on Belarusian territory would remain on the ground during the negotiations. Talks began on 28 February, near the Belarusian border. The Ukrainian president's office said that the main goals were to call for an immediate ceasefire, and for Russian troops to be withdrawn from Ukraine. It concluded with no immediate agreements.

Second round (3 March 2022)

On 3 March, the second round of peace talks began. Both sides agreed to open humanitarian corridors for evacuating civilians. Russia's demands were Ukraine's recognition of Russian-occupied

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, independence for separatist-controlled

Luhansk Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the Cities in Ukraine, 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administra ...

and

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

, and "de-militarisation" and "

de-Nazification Denazification () was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by removing those who had been Nazi Par ...

". Ukrainian Foreign Minister

stated that while his country was ready for talks to resume, Russia's demands had not changed. On 5 March, Israeli prime minister

Naftali Bennett Naftali Bennett (, ; born 25 March 1972) is an Israeli politician and businessman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 13 June 2021 to 30 June 2022, and as the alternate prime minister from 1 July to 8 November 2022. Bennett was t ...

flew to Moscow and held three hours of meetings with Putin, then flew to Germany and held meetings with German Chancellor

Olaf Scholz Olaf Scholz (; born 14 June 1958) is a German politician who served as the Chancellor of Germany from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice-Chancellor of Ge ...

. Bennett spoke in advance with Zelenskyy, who had previously asked for his help mediating. He also coordinated with the US, France and Germany. According to '' Al Monitor'', the meetings were instigated by Scholz who made a brief visit to Israel on 3 March and held a long one-on-one meeting with Bennett, which produced the mediation idea. On 6 March, Ukrainian official Denys Kireyev was found dead after being accused of committing 'treason' and working for Russia. Barely a week after attending the first round of peace talks, images of Kireyev's corpse began circulating.

Third round (7 March 2022)

A third round of negotiations began on 7 March, amidst ongoing fighting and bombing.

Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov (, ; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat serving as the Kremlin Press Secretary, spokesman for President of Russia, Russian president Vladimir Putin since 2012.Mykhailo Podoliak tweeted that "there were some small positive shifts regarding logistics of humanitarian corridors." However, the day before, a Ukrainian negotiator was shot amid claims of spying for Russia.

Antalya Diplomacy Forum (10 March 2022)

On 10 March, Russian Foreign Minister

Sergey Lavrov Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (, ; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2004. He is the longest-serving Russian foreign minister since Andrei Gromyko d ...

and his Ukrainian counterpart

met for talks in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

with Turkish Foreign Minister

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (; born 5 February 1968) is a Turkish diplomat and politician who is currently a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Grand National Assembly. He also served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Turkey), Minister o ...

as mediator, in the first high-level contact between the two sides since the beginning of the invasion. Ukraine had attempted to negotiate a 24-hour ceasefire to provide aid and evacuation to civilians, especially in

Mariupol Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the coun ...

. After two hours of talks, no agreement was reached. Airstrikes on the port city continued.

Fourth round (14–17 March 2022)

The fourth round of negotiations began on 14 March via video conference. The talks lasted a few hours and ended without a breakthrough. The two sides resumed talks on 15 March, after which Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the talks as beginning to "sound more realistic". By 16 March, Mykhailo Podoliak was assigned as the chief negotiator for the Ukrainian peace delegation, who indicated that peace negotiations of a 15-point plan would involve the retraction of Russian forces from their advanced positions in Ukraine, along with international guarantees for military support and alliance in case of renewed Russian military action, in return for Ukraine not pursuing further affiliation with NATO. The two sides again resumed talks on 16 March. Later that day, the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' reported that a 15-point plan, first discussed on 14 March, negotiated with the Russians was being identified by Zelenskyy as more realistic for ending the war. After the fourth day of talks on 17 March, Russia said an agreement has not been reached. Following the talks, French Foreign Minister

Jean-Yves Le Drian Jean-Yves Le Drian (; born 30 June 1947) is a French politician who served as Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs in the governments of Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and Jean Castex (2017–2022) and as Minister of Defence under Preside ...

warned that Russia was only "pretending to negotiate", in line with a strategy it has used elsewhere. On 20 March, Turkey's Foreign Minister

, the mediator of the talks, described them as "making progress". Referring to his role as "an honest mediator and facilitator", he gave little further detail. Following his address to the Israeli parliament, Zelenskyy thanked

for his efforts in encouraging peace talks, and suggested that they might take place in Jerusalem.

Fifth round (21 March 2022)

The fifth round of talks, on 21 March, failed to achieve a breakthrough. Zelenskyy called for direct talks with Putin to end the war. Sergey Lavrov said direct talks between the two presidents would only go ahead once both sides are closer to reaching a settlement.

Istanbul peace talks: 29–30 March 2022

On 28 March, Zelenskyy confirmed that a renewal of peace talk negotiations with Russia would start in Istanbul on 29 March, with the intention of discussing Ukrainian neutrality, along with the repudiation of any claims for Ukrainian NATO membership in the future. On 29 March, Estonian Prime Minister,

Kaja Kallas Kaja Kallas (; born 18 June 1977) is an Estonian politician and diplomat. She was the first female prime minister of Estonia, a role she held from 2021 until 2024, when she resigned in advance of her appointment as High Representative of the ...

, indicated in agreement with French minister Le Drian that any Russian offers of peaceful negotiation about Ukraine, or withdrawal from Kyiv, should be regarded with diplomatic skepticism, based on a history of Russian unreliability in similar peace negotiations with other countries. Ahead of the 29 March meeting Turkish president

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

stated that Ukraine was ready to agree to 4 out of Russia's 6 demands. He claimed Ukraine was prepared to renounce NATO membership and to make Russian Ukraine's second official language. According to Erdoğan Ukraine was not prepared to recognise the Russian occupation of Crimea or parts of Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts. Ukraine proposed adopting a neutral status in exchange for security guarantees along the lines of

NATO Article 5 The North Atlantic Treaty, also known as the Washington Treaty, forms the legal basis of, and is implemented by, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949. Background The treaty ...

. The proposals also included a 15-year consultation period on the status of Russian-annexed Crimea and return of all Russian forces to their pre-invasion positions. Russia's Ministry of Defense announced "drastic reduction of military activity" on the Kyiv and Chernihiv fronts, which, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky clarified, was not tantamount to a ceasefire. In a televised meeting with military bloggers on 13 June 2023 the Russian president

claimed that Russia and Ukraine had come on that day to "a good agreement on how to resolve the current situation by peaceful means" but then the Ukrainians "threw it away" after the withdrawal of Russian troops from

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

following the failed Russian 2022 offensive on Kyiv.
According to Putin, Ukraine had agreed to curb

Neo-Nazism in Ukraine During Ukraine's post-Soviet history, the Far-right politics, far-right has remained on the political periphery and been largely excluded from national politics since Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, independence in 1991.Melanie Mierzejewski ...

through the "introducing appropriate restrictions in the law in Ukraine", but this has failed to happen intentionally. On 17 June 2023 Putin showed what he says was a draft agreement with Ukraine, which was discussed in Turkey late March 2022, during a meeting with an African delegation. Putin claimed there were 18 articles, and "everything is spelled out, from combat equipment to the personnel of the

Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

", and the document was according to Putin signed by the head of the Ukrainian delegation. In June 2023, Belarus president

claimed, in an interview with

Russia-1 Russia-1 () is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship channel of the All-Russia ...

, that Ukrainian and Russian delegations also discussed the possibility of "some sort of a lease" of Crimea during the March 2022 negotiations. Oleksii Arestovych, a member of the Ukrainian delegation at the talks, also said that Russia was ready for a "political discussion" concerning Crimea. Ukrainian lead negotiator (at this point) Davyd Arakhamia stated in an interview on 24 November 2023 that in March 2022 the Russian delegation had promised Ukraine peace for refusing to join NATO, but that Russia had not given any security guarantees and the Ukrainian delegation did not trust Russia to uphold such an agreement. Arakhamia also refuted Putin's claim that Ukraine had signed any agreement in Turkey because the delegation did not even have the legal right to sign anything - this could only have happened if a meeting between

Ukrainian president The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

and Putin took place. Arakhamia also claimed that Russian delegation had only cared about Ukraine's neutral status and that the other Russian demands had been "cosmetic and political "seasoning" about

, the Russian-speaking population and blah blah blah."

April 2022

On 7 April, Russian Foreign Minister

said that the peace deal

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

drafted and presented to the

Russian government The Russian Government () or fully titled the Government of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal executive governmental body of the Russian Federation. It is accountable to the president of the Russian Federation and controlled by ...

contained "unacceptable" elements. Lavrov said that the proposal diverged from the terms negotiators had agreed on. Mykhaylo Podolyak, a negotiator for Ukraine, said that the comments from Lavrov are a tactic to draw attention away from the war crime accusations against Russian forces. Lastly, Lavrov stated, "Despite all the provocations, the Russian delegation will continue with the negotiation process, pressing for our own draft agreement that clearly and fully outlines our initial and key positions and requirements." An article in ''

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

'' later stated:

According to multiple former senior U.S. officials we spoke with, in April 2022, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators appeared to have tentatively agreed on the outlines of a negotiated interim settlement: Russia would withdraw to its position on February 23, when it controlled part of the Donbas region and all of Crimea, and in exchange, Ukraine would promise not to seek NATO membership and instead receive security guarantees from a number of countries.

According to a May report from ''

Ukrainska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

'', the Russian side was ready for a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, but it later came to a halt after the discovery of

war crimes in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Russian military and authorities have committed war crimes, such as deliberate attacks against civilian targets, including on hospitals, medical facilities and on the e ...

, in particular the

on 1 April. In a surprise visit to Ukraine on 9 April, British Prime Minister

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

said "Putin is a war criminal, he should be pressured, not negotiated with," and that the collective West was not willing to make a deal with Putin. Three days after Johnson left Kyiv, Putin stated publicly that talks with Ukraine "had turned into a dead end". Naftali Bennett said in 2023 that both sides had wanted a ceasefire, the odds of the deal holding had been 50-50, and that the Western powers backing Ukraine had stopped the deal. Later he expressed doubts regarding the desirability of such a deal.

Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (born 24 October 1966) is a business oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, England, and is the primary owner of the private investment com ...

visited Kyiv in an attempt to resume negotiations. Zelenskyy proposed negotiating two separate documents, one being a bilateral agreement between Ukraine and Russia, and the other involving Ukraine and the West. Ukrainian lead negotiator (at this point) Davyd Arakhamia stated in an interview on 24 November 2023 that the neutral status of Ukraine was the key Russian demand during the negotiations and that the western countries were aware of the negotiations and advised Ukraine not to rely on security guarantees. Arakhamia also denied that Johnson stopped Kyiv from signing an agreement stipulating Ukraine's neutrality saying that the Ukrainian delegation did not have the authority to do it. On 11 April, the Chancellor of Austria,

Karl Nehammer Karl Nehammer (; born 18 October 1972) is an Austrian politician who served as the 28th chancellor of Austria from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), he previously was Minister of the Interior (Austria), Minister of th ...

, visited and spoke with Putin in Moscow in 'very direct, open and hard' talks which were skeptical of the short-term peaceful resolution of the invasion. On 26 April, the Secretary-General of the United Nations

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

visited Russia for the purpose of speaking with Putin and Lavrov in separate meetings. After the meetings, it was revealed that Putin and Lavrov were skeptical as to reaching any short term resolution of differences between Russia and Ukraine, largely due to very different respective perspectives on the circumstances of the invasion presently being adopted by each of the two nations. According to U.S. officials who spoke to ''Foreign Affairs'', a provisional agreement was reached in April, whereby the Russian forces would withdraw to the pre-invasion line and Ukraine would commit not to seek to join NATO in exchange for security guarantees from a number of countries. However, in a July interview with Russian state media, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that this compromise was no longer an option, saying that even the Donbas was not enough and that the "geography had changed."

Istanbul Communiqué

Russia and Ukraine started peace negotiations the next day after the start of the Russian invasion, on 28 February 2022 in Belarus. Initially, Russia demanded Ukraine's effective capitulation. While the Russian

blitzkrieg ''Blitzkrieg'(Lightning/Flash Warfare)'' is a word used to describe a combined arms surprise attack, using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with ...

plan to take Kyiv stalled, a series of further meetings took place. By the end of March 2022, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators were successful in getting their positions closer together. After failing to blitz-takeover

and

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

, taking heavy casualties and being forced to retreat off Kyiv oblast, Putin, as reported by the US magazine

, was ready to put the status of

up for discussion. The negotiating teams produced the Istanbul Communiqué, "Key Provisions of the Treaty on Ukraine's Security Guarantees" – a framework of a possible agreement. The treaty would declare Ukraine to be allowed to apply for EU membership and to be a neutral state; put a limit on the size of its

military forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

; cease NATO membership plans; forbid foreign military bases; and list Russia and Western countries, among which were the US and the UK, as guarantors, obliged to assist Ukraine in case of aggression against it . The status of Crimea would have to be negotiated after 10 to 15 years. Following the discovery of the

at the beginning of April 2022 and public anger in Ukraine at the atrocities, Zelenskyy called for Russia to be expelled from the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

, but intense work on the treaty continued. Disagreements still present included Ukraine's military forces' size, and Russia's newly raised demand that in the event of an attack, guarantors come to Ukraine's defence "on the basis of a decision agreed to by all guarantor states", thus giving Russia the possibility to veto a military response by the guarantors. Ukraine rejected the demand, and the UK informed Ukraine it would not sign on or guarantee any agreement made with Russia. The talks stopped in May 2022 without reaching an agreement. Putin claimed that Ukraine rejected the deal under pressure from the West. Others saw the negotiations only as a distraction to allow regrouping. In the magazine ''

'', political scientists Samuel Charap and Sergey Radchenko studied several versions of the draft agreement, interviewed participants in the talks and officials in several Western governments, and reviewed public statements by and interviews with Ukrainian and Russian officials, and compared their evidence with the timeline of events. They argued that the evidence revealed "mutual willingness" of Zelenskyy and Putin to "consider far-reaching concessions to end the war", and that an agreement providing Ukraine with multilateral security guarantees, permanent neutrality and EU membership in the long term, was "almost finalised", however "the communiqué had not resolved some key issues". Charap and Radchenko argued that four factors in combination led to failure to achieve agreement. According to them, three factors involved specific stakeholders: the unwillingness of Ukraine's Western partners to provide security guarantees; Ukrainian public anger at the Bucha atrocities; and Zelenskyy's increased confidence in a military solution with the failure of the Russian attempt to take over Kyiv. The fourth factor listed by Charap and Radchenko was that solving geopolitical security issues while ignoring immediate peace processes for detailed security issues such as

humanitarian corridor A humanitarian corridor is a type of temporary demilitarized zone intended to allow the safe transit of humanitarian aid in, and/or refugees out of a crisis region. Such a corridor can also be associated with a no-fly zone or no-drive zone. Va ...

s, a

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...

, and the withdrawal of military forces was overambitious, "aim ngtoo high, too soon". Polish diplomat Jakub Kumoch criticized the analysis of Charap and Radchenko, arguing that they "accepted the Russian narrative" and that the lack of consensus over borders, disarmament of Ukraine and security guarantees blocked any chance of agreement. In June 2024, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' published several versions of drafts of the treaty that was undergoing negotiations, and published its analysis based on speaking with more than twelve Ukrainian, Russian and Western participants and other people close to the negotiations.

May 2022

On 13 May, U.S. Secretary of Defense

Lloyd Austin Lloyd James Austin III (born August 8, 1953) is a retired United States Army four-star General (United States), general who served as the 28th United States Secretary of Defense, United States secretary of defense from 2021 to 2025. Before ...

initiated a telephone conversation with Russian Minister of Defense

Sergei Shoigu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu; , . (born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as secretary of the Security Council since 2024. He served as Minister of Defence of Russia from 2012 to 2024. Shoigu has served a ...

, the first call since 18 February, before the invasion. The call lasted about an hour with Austin urging an immediate ceasefire. On 15 May, Putin convened the

Collective Security Treaty Organization The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, ) is an Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Th ...

, consisting of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Tajikistan, and Belarus, to discuss issues of peace and border security related to Ukraine and NATO. President Zelenskyy denounced suggestions by former US diplomat

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...

that Ukraine should cede control of Crimea and Donbas to Russia in exchange for peace. On 25 May, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would not agree to peace until Russia agreed to return Crimea and the Donbas region to Ukraine. Zelenskyy stressed that "Ukrainians are not ready to give away their land, to accept that these territories belong to Russia." He emphasized that Ukrainians own the land of Ukraine. . Kissinger changed his initial suggestion and presented it at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2023, where he announced that NATO membership for Ukraine would be an "appropriate outcome" from his perspective.

Stall in talks, Ukrainian offensives, and Russian annexations (May 2022–January 2023)

Annexation of Southern and Eastern Ukraine

Ukraine began a counteroffensive in Kherson on 29 August 2022 that culminated in the

Liberation of Kherson On 11 November 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated and recaptured the city of Kherson and other areas of the Kherson Oblast and parts of the Mykolaiv Oblast on the Right-bank Ukraine, right bank of the Dnieper, Dnipro River from Russi ...

that November, alongside a successful counteroffensive in Kharkiv that began in September. In September, Ukraine rejected a peace plan proposed by

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and Zelenskyy addressed the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session, its powers, ...

, laying out five "non-negotiable" peace conditions: "just punishment" of Russia, protection of life by "all available means allowed under the

UN charter The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the United Nations (UN). It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its United Nations System#Six ...

", restoring security and territorial integrity, foreign security guarantees for Ukraine, and determination for Ukraine to continue in self-defense. Zelenskyy said he saw little chance for peace talks unless Russia withdrew from Ukraine. On 30 September, Russia announced the annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts—

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...

, and

Kherson Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...

—though it did not did not fully control any of them. In response, Ukraine applied for NATO membership and Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine would not hold peace talks with Russia while Putin was president, signing a presidential decree declaring negotiations with Putin "impossible". After October 2022 missile strikes on Ukraine, China and India expressed concern and called for de-escalation and dialogue. Erdoğan said that Putin "is now more open to possible peace talks" and Ukraine "was not rejecting such peace talks"; Russia said it was ready for renewed dialogue, but Ukraine said it did not believe Russia was truly committed to peace and that it sought only a break to rebuild its military capabilities for future attacks. In October,

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...

suggested a peace settlement in which Ukraine would permanently cede Crimea to Russia and assure its continued water supply, drop its bid to join NATO, and submit to UN-supervised referendums on the future of the Russian-annexed territories. Russia welcomed the proposal, though Zelenskyy rebuffed it as "pro-Russia". On 7 November, Zelenskyy listed new conditions for negotiating with Russia: "One more time: restoration of territorial integrity, respect for the U.N. charter, compensation for all material losses caused by the war, ndpunishment for every war criminal and guarantees that this does not happen again." Mark Milley, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, said Ukraine should find a "political solution" with Russia because the war was unwinnable for it by military means; a later ''

'' report said that U.S. Secretary of State

Antony Blinken Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 71st United States secretary of state from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor, deputy national security advisor ...

insisted that Ukraine continue fighting in response to Milley's statement. Ukraine presented the detailed 10-point peace proposal later in November at a

G20 The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, the European Union (EU), and the African Union (AU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stabil ...

meeting. In December, Ukrainian foreign minister

suggested a February 2023 peace summit at the UN mediated by secretary-general

to which Russia would only be invited if it faced an international court for war crimes. Later that month, Russian officials said it would only resume peace talks with Ukraine if it recognized Russian sovereignty over the annexed regions. Peskov said in January 2023 that "there is currently no prospect for diplomatic means of settling the situation around Ukraine."

Continuing war and international proposals (February–September 2023)

In February 2023, at the 59th Munich Security Conference, Chinese foreign policy chief Wang Yi said Chinese leader

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

would present a peace proposal for the war in Ukraine. On 24 February, China's government published a 12-point paper of " China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis", receiving mixed responses from Western leaders. At the

, China's deputy ambassador to the UN proposed a plan involving a ceasefire, dialogue, security guarantees for Russia, protection of civilians, and the upholding of territorial integrity; China also said that the West had exacerbated the conflict by supplying Ukraine with weaponry. Zelenskyy said that "I plan to meet Xi Jinping and believe this will be beneficial for our countries and for security in the world", though a time or place for a meeting was not set. The spokeswoman of Russia's foreign ministry,

Maria Zakharova Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova (, ; born 24 December 1975) is a Russian politician who serves as the director of the information and press department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federa ...

, said Russia appreciated China's efforts to resolve the conflict and was "open to achieving the goals of the

special military operation "Special military operation" (also "special operation", and abbreviated as "SMO" or "SVO", or , ) is the official term used by the Russian government to describe the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is widely considered a euphemism intended to ...

by political and diplomatic means" but that it would entail recognising the "new territorial realities" of Russia's annexations. Peskov said that for now, we don't see any of the conditions that are needed to bring this whole story towards peace." Chinese foreign minister

Qin Gang Qin Gang (born 19 March 1966) is a Chinese former diplomat and politician who served as the 12th Minister of Foreign Affairs (China), Minister of Foreign Affairs from December 2022 to July 2023 and as State councillor, State Councillor from Mar ...

said sanctions and political pressure would not resolve the conflict, which he said "seems to be driven by an invisible hand pushing for the protraction and escalation", and that "the process of peace talks should begin as soon as possible". Xi said that China's peace proposal reflected world opinion ahead of his visit to Russia on 20–22 March 2023. Blinken responded by saying "the world should not be fooled by any tactical move by Russia, supported by China or any other country, to freeze the war on its own terms." On 26 April 2023, over a month after Xi's summit with Putin, Xi Jinping held a phone call with Zelenskyy. The Chinese readout of the Xi–Zelenskyy call included little concrete information about the start of a peace process; in May, European officials criticized China's peace plan as an attempt at "freezing" the conflict in place and splitting the West in pushing Ukraine to a ceasefire. Earlier, Peskov had said that Russia has "to achieve our goals" and that "Right now this is only possible by military means." In April 2023, some Ukrainian officials said they would be willing to discuss the status of Crimea. That month, Brazilian president

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...

suggested that Ukraine should "give up Crimea" in exchange for Russian withdrawal from all territory it has occupied since February 2022. Lula condemned Russia's violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity but said that Zelenskyy "cannot want everything"; he said Brazil advocates a "negotiated political solution to the conflict" and expressed concern over "global consequences" of the war "in terms of

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

and energy security". Brazilian foreign policy adviser

Celso Amorim Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim (born 3 June 1942) is a Brazilian diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 20 July 1993 to 31 December 1994 under President Itamar Franco and again from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2010 under President ...

said "the ideal peace for the Ukrainians and the Russians" required "concessions". Ukraine rejected Lula's proposal. Lula said after visiting China that "the United States needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace", to which U.S. national security spokesman John Kirby responded by accusing Lula of "parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda" and suggesting that the U.S. and Europe were responsible for Russia's invasion. Dmytro Kuleba met with Li Hui to stop Russian aggression

Dmytro Kuleba met with Li Hui to stop Russian aggression

On 7 April, Russian foreign minister

said Russia rejects the United States-led " unipolar world order" and that peace talks with Ukraine should focus on creating a "new world order". Lula proposed creating a "peace club" of a group of

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...

, including Brazil and China, that would negotiate peace in Ukraine. On 30 April,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

said the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

was taking part in a secret "peace mission" to end the war. In May 2023, UN secretary-general

said peace negotiations to end the war were "not possible at this moment" because Russia was "completely absorbed in this war" and "convinced that they can win". On 16 May, South African president

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

said that a group of African leaders had created a new initiative for peace in Ukraine. Lula said that the countries of the

Global South Global North and Global South are terms that denote a method of grouping countries based on their defining characteristics with regard to socioeconomics and politics. According to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Global South broadly com ...

, including Brazil, India, Indonesia, and China, "want peace", but both Putin and Zelenskyy "are convinced that they are going to win the war" and are refusing talks. On 22 May, Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Denmark was willing to host a summit in July 2023 aimed at "finding peace between Ukraine and Russia", and said that "it is necessary to build interest and involvement from countries like India, Brazil and China."

June–September 2023

On 3 June,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

's defense minister

Prabowo Subianto Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman, and former four-star Indonesian Army, army general who is serving as the eighth and current president of Indonesia since 2024. He was previously t ...

proposed a multi-point peace plan at the

Shangri-La Dialogue The IISS Asia Security Summit: The Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) is a " Track One" inter-governmental security conference held annually in Singapore by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The dialogue is commonly attended by ...

security summit in Singapore including a ceasefire and establishing a demilitarised zone observed and monitored by the

United Nations Peacekeeping Forces Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role of the United Nations's Department of Peace Operations and an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is ...

. He said that a UN referendum should be held "to ascertain objectively the wishes of the majority of the inhabitants of the various disputed areas". Prabowo's proposal was criticised by EU foreign policy chief

Josep Borrell Josep Borrell Fontelles (; born 24 April 1947) is a Spanish politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2019 to 2024. A member of the Spani ...

. Ukrainian Defense Minister

Oleksii Reznikov Oleksii Yuriiovych Reznikov (, ; born 18 June 1966) is a Ukrainian lawyer and politician who served as the List of Ministers of Defense (Ukraine), Minister of Defence of Ukraine from 4 November 2021 until his dismissal on 5 September 2023. ...

said that the peace plans presented by China, Brazil and Indonesia are attempts at mediation on behalf of Russia, saying that "they all currently want to be mediators on Russia's side. That's why this sort of mediation currently doesn't fit for us at all because they aren't impartial." Reznikov said that Ukraine is willing to accept China as a mediator for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine only if Beijing could convince Russia to withdraw from all the territories it has occupied in Ukraine. In June, a delegation from Africa, including representatives from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Congo-Brazzaville The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

, and

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, visited Ukraine and Russia to call for peace. Both Russia and Ukraine welcomed the African leaders' mission, but Ukrainian Foreign Minister

warned that "Any peace initiative should respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, it should not imply, even in-between the lines, any cessation of Ukrainian territory to Russia. Second, any peace plan should not lead to the freezing of the conflict." After a meeting with African leaders in Kyiv, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that peace talks with Russia would be possible only after Moscow withdraws its forces from the entire occupied territory. The African delegation was in Kyiv during a Russian missile strike on the city. On 23 July 2024, Ukrainian foreign minister

visited China for talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on ways to achieve a peaceful end to the war with Russia. This was the first such bilateral visit since 2012. On 17 June, South African president

and other African leaders met Russian president Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. Ramaphosa told Putin that the war must end. Putin rejected the delegation's peace plan based on accepting Ukraine's internationally recognized

borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...

. Putin also claimed that it was "virtually impossible to implement a ceasefire", adding that "Ukraine is advancing, they're on a strategic offensive, how do we hold our fire when they're advancing on us?". The Ukrainian Peace Plan has been publicized at a series of meetings that began on 25 June 2023. The first conference, which was held in Copenhagen, was attended by delegates from 15 countries. On 29 July, following a meeting with African leaders at the 2023 Russia–Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, Russian president Vladimir Putin rejected a ceasefire and peace talks with Ukraine due to the ongoing Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russian forces in Russia-occupied southeastern Ukraine, saying "We cannot cease fire when we are under attack." On 5 and 6 August 2023

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

hosted multinational peace talks attended by 40 countries (including China) in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

focusing on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy's proposed peace plan. Russia did not participate in the talks. Prior to the summit

Andriy Yermak Andriy Borysovych Yermak (; born 21 November 1971)
...

, Zelenskyy's chief of staff, said there would be discussions on the Ukrainian Peace Formula, which "contains 10 fundamental points, the implementation of which will not only ensure peace for Ukraine, but also create mechanisms to counter future conflicts in the world". After the summit no joint statement was issued. The participants did agree to create working groups to develop details of key themes prominent in Zelenskyy's proposed peace plan (that calls for Russian troops to withdraw from all of Ukraine's territory as part of a peace deal) while a parallel ambassadors group would continue technical work on the issues. On 27 September 2023, Russian Foreign Minister

said in an interview with

TASS The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterpri ...

that Russia was "ready to make agreements" on Ukraine if they would "take the situation on the ground" and Russian security interests into account. According to Lavrov one of the Russian security interest was "the need to prevent the creation of a hostile Nazi regime near Russian borders." Lavrov also said that Russia did not see "any serious proposals from the West" and he argued that they were promoting

Volodymyr Zelenskyy 'peace formula' as "the sole basis for negotiations" and that there was "no point in discussing it as it is nothing but an ultimatum."
Lavrov also praised the June 2023 African,

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

(although formally the Arab League never submitted its own peace proposal), Chinese, Brazilian and peace proposals "from other countries" since he claimed "All of them were guided by a sincere desire to facilitate an agreement, which would consider the root causes of the current situation and the need to eliminate them, and will also ensure equal security for all parties."

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

's Prime Minister

Robert Fico Robert Fico (; born 15 September 1964) is a Slovak politician who has served as the prime minister of Slovakia since 2023. He previously served as prime minister from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018. He founded the left-wing political party D ...

said that sending more and more weapons to Ukraine has only encouraged more killings and endless war, and instead efforts should be made to reach a cease-fire and push Russia and Ukraine toward peace talks. In September 2023, he stated in an interview: "Why don't we force the warring parties, use the weight of the EU and the U.S. to make them sit down and find some sort of compromise that would guarantee security for Ukraine?" He praised the peace plans to end the war put forward by the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

, Brazil and China. Fico said his government would do everything possible to start peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Putin's peace terms and ceasefire proposals (October 2023–June 2024)

In October 2023, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group began confidential talks with Ukrainian officials over the broad outline of possible peace talks. Later that month, delegates from 65 countries met in Malta to discuss Ukraine's peace plan. In November, Zelenskyy rejected peace talks; he said he is "not ready to speak with the terrorists, because their word is nothing", and that "the world can switch to diplomacy" only if Russia withdraws from Ukraine. French president

said Russia was committing "imperialism and colonialism" in Ukraine and that France and other countries had the "duty" to help Ukraine's defense, but said that maybe the time would come eventually for fair peace negotiations and a solution with Russia. Putin said Russia was always "ready for talks" to end the "tragedy" of the war and blamed Ukraine for rejecting peace with Russia. The next month, representatives of 83 states and three international organizations met in Kyiv to discuss the implementation of Ukraine's ten-point peace plan. On 15 December, Putin said in his annual press conference that "there will only be peace in Ukraine when we achieve our aims" of "denazification, demilitarisation and kraine'sneutral status".
He said that Ukraine did not give the now-annexed regions "the attention they were due" and that he would work to integrate them into Russia's "economic and social life". Secretary Blinken Attends World Economic Forum

Secretary Blinken Attends World Economic Forum

''The New York Times'' reported in December 2023 that Putin had been signaling through intermediaries since at least September 2022 that "he is open to a ceasefire that freezes the fighting along the current lines"; a former senior Russian official told the ''Times'' that Putin "is willing to stop at the current positions" but is "not willing to retreat one meter." In January 2024, U.S. president

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

and his national security advisor

Jake Sullivan Jacob Jeremiah Sullivan (born November 28, 1976) is an American attorney who served as the National Security Advisor (United States), U.S. national security advisor from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. Sullivan previously served as Dire ...

privately rejected a proposal from Putin for a ceasefire in the war; Sullivan told Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov that the United States would only discuss a ceasefire with Ukraine's participation. Putin's proposal reportedly involved a freeze along the current front lines that allowed Russia to keep occupied territory; Russia denied that Putin had secretly proposed a ceasefire. Zelenskyy said he does not feel pressure from allies to agree to a ceasefire and said "any frozen conflict ith Russiawill eventually reignite". Another meeting to discuss Ukraine's peace formula was held in

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

at the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

, with delegates from 83 nations. Putin said that he was ready to negotiate with Zelenskyy during a February 2024 interview with Tucker Carlson. Putin did not name any conditions for peace negotiations and avoided a question of whether he would "be satisfied" with the territory Russia currently held. He said that Russia had not yet achieved its war aims because "one of them is denazification", which involved "the prohibition of all kinds of

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

movements." On 4 March, former Russian president and deputy

Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

chairman

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...

ruled out peace talks with Ukraine's current leadership and said any future Ukrainian government would need to accept Russian occupation, while describing Ukraine as part of Russia.

said that Ukraine should have talks with Russia "before things get worse", saying that it should "have the courage to negotiate" and that doing so is not equivalent to surrendering. The next week, Putin said it would be "ridiculous" to "negotiate just because kraine isrunning out of ammunition", but that he was "ready for a serious conversation" to end the war. In May 2024, Russian sources told

that Putin was ready to halt the war along the current front lines, saying that Putin believed that the West was trying to derail ceasefire talks. Italian defense minister Guido Crosetto said Ukraine must "leave open the possibility of negotiating an immediate truce and initiating peace talks in the coming months." On 24 May, China and Brazil jointly presented a new six-point peace plan that called for an international peace conference "held at a proper time that is recognised by both Russia and Ukraine, with equal participation of all parties as well as fair discussion of all peace plans." On 14 June, Putin outlined Russian terms for a ceasefire, including the complete handover of all annexed provinces, including the parts not controlled by Russia;

the requirement of Ukraine to become a neutral country, abandon plans to join NATO, and never seek to develop nuclear weapons; respect for the rights of Russian-speakers in Ukraine; the lifting of sanctions against Russia; and the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine. Putin said his proposal was "not about freezing the conflict but about its final resolution", and said that if turned down by Ukraine and its allies, then it would be "their political and moral responsibility for continuing the bloodshed". In response, Zelenskyy said that Putin's messages were "ultimatum messages", calling them "the same thing

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

did, when he said ' give me a part of Czechoslovakia and it'll end here'."

Ukraine peace summit and Zelenskyy's victory plan (June–October 2024)

On 15–16 June 2024, representatives from 92 nations and 8 international organizations attended an international summit on peace in Ukraine in

Nidwalden Canton of Nidwalden or Nidwald ( ; ; ; ) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven municipalities and the seat of the government and parliament is in Stans. It is traditionally considered a " half-canto ...

, Switzerland; Russia was not invited. The final statement from the summit, Joint Communiqué on a Peace Framework, was backed by a majority of participants. It said that "Ukrainian nuclear power plants and installations, including Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, must operate safely and securely under full sovereign control of Ukraine and in line with

principles and under its supervision". It also declared that "Any threat or use of nuclear weapons in the context of the ongoing war against Ukraine is inadmissible"; that "Attacks on merchant ships in ports and along the entire route" and "against civilian ports and civilian port infrastructure, are unacceptable"; and that "Ukrainian agricultural products should be securely and freely provided to interested third countries." It said that ""all

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

must be released" and that all children and "other Ukrainian civilians who were unlawfully detained, must be returned to Ukraine". Some delegates did not endorse the communiqué; , 89 states and six organisations had signed it. Later in June, retired Lieutenant General

Keith Kellogg Joseph Keith Kellogg Jr. (born May 12, 1944) is an American diplomat and retired Lieutenant general (United States), lieutenant general in the United States Army. He previously served as the national security advisor to Vice President Mike Penc ...

and Frederick H. Fleitz presented former U.S. president and then-presidential candidate

a detailed plan to end the war in Ukraine. The plan proposes a ceasefire along the current front lines, with the U.S. continuing arms supplies to Ukraine if it agreed to a ceasefire and peace talks, and increasing supplies if Russia refused. Ukraine would not have to formally cede territory, but Russia would retain '' de facto'' control of occupied territories and Ukraine would postpone its plans for NATO membership. Kellogg and Fleitz said that the plan was motivated by a concern that the war "has become a

war of attrition The War of Attrition (; ) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, no serious diplomatic efforts were made to resolve t ...

that's going to kill a whole generation of young men." On 2 July, Hungarian prime minister

Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 200 ...

before proceeding to visit Russia and China on 5 and 8 July, respectively, self-appointing himself a mediator for ending the war.
In August, Ukraine began an offensive into Russia's Kursk oblast; Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said one of the offensive's goals was to "inflict significant tactical defeats" to "convince the Russian Federation to enter into a fair negotiation process", potentially to exchange Russian territory for Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory in a peace settlement. The Kursk offensive disrupted plans for indirect talks in

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

, Qatar, to halt strikes on energy infrastructure in Ukraine and in Russia. Both countries reportedly planned to send delegations to talks mediated by Qatari officials, but Russian officials postponed the meeting after Ukraine's offensive. Ukrainian officials told ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' that the talks were postponed "due to the situation in the Middle East" but later declined to comment. Some officials had hoped the talks could be the first step toward a comprehensive peace deal. Putin said one week after the Kursk offensive began that he would not negotiate with Ukraine. In September 2024, Zelenskyy proposed U.S. participation in developing Ukraine's natural resources in exchange for continued support in countering Russian aggression. Ukraine possesses significant deposits of minerals, including lithium, graphite, manganese, and titanium ore. Many of these resources remain unexploited, while some deposits are located in territories occupied by Russia. The next month, Zelenskyy unveiled the Victory Plan for Ukraine, which sought to solve to the conflict with Russia and describe future national defense guarantees. The plan's official goal is "to change the circumstances in such a way that Russia will be forced to peace". It outlined strategies to strengthen Ukraine and potentially end the war, including a renewed request for inclusion in NATO and a robust post-war security framework, assistance in deterring Russian aggression, and a "special agreement on joint investment and use" of Ukraine's natural resourcessuch as uranium, titanium, and lithiumwith the

and the United States. After the plan was unveiled, French defense minister

Sébastien Lecornu Sébastien Lecornu (; born 11 June 1986) is a French politician who has served as Minister of the Armed Forces in the governments of successive Prime Ministers Élisabeth Borne, Gabriel Attal, Michel Barnier and François BayrouLeigh Thomas and ...

—under instruction from French president

—entered into bilateral discussion with Ukraine that month to use the country's

rare-earth mineral A rare-earth mineral contains one or more rare-earth elements as major metal constituents. Rare-earth minerals are usually found in association with alkaline to peralkaline igneous magmas in pegmatites or with carbonatite Intrusive rock, intrusiv ...

s for France's defense industry.

Calls for renewed peace negotiations (November–December 2024)

won the November 2024 United States presidential election. Trump had pledged during his campaign to negotiate an end to the war "within 24 hours" if elected —though gave few details on how he would do so—and had vowed to stop the "endless flow of American treasure to Ukraine". After winning the election, he began a push for peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. On 7 December, as president-elect, Trump travelled to Paris for the reopening of the

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

, and met with both Macron and Zelenskyy to discuss the war, and met with other European officials. Two days after Trump's election victory,

, Russia's security council secretary, said that the West should recognize Russia as winning the war and begin settlement negotiations. Later that month, Zelenskyy proposed putting Ukraine-controlled territory "under the NATO umbrella" to "stop the hot stage of the war", and said that "Ukraine can get back the other part of its territory diplomatically." In December, former NATO secretary general

Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (; born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. Since 2025, he has been the Minister of Finance in the Støre Cabinet. He has previously been the prime minister of Norway and secretary general of NATO. ...

said that Ukraine could temporarily cede Russian-occupied territory in exchange for peace.

2025 developments

Beginning of negotiations and Putin–Trump call

Trump assumed office as U.S. president on 20 January 2025. Two days later, he said he would impose further sanctions and high tariffs on Russia if Putin did not make a "deal" to end the war in Ukraine, though said he was "not looking to hurt Russia" and had "always had a very good relationship with President Putin". Putin responded that he was ready to negotiate with Trump; Zelenskyy said Putin sought to "manipulate" the U.S. president, though said he believed Putin would not succeed. Trump also said that Zelenskyy "shouldn't have allowed this war to happen", suggesting that Ukraine was partly responsible for the Russian invasion. On 12 February, during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at

NATO headquarters The NATO headquarters is the political and administrative center of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). After previous locations in London and Paris, it has been headquartered in Brussels since 1967, in a complex in Haren, part of ...

, Trump's defense secretary

Pete Hegseth Peter Brian Hegseth (born June 6, 1980) is an American author, former television presenter, and former Army National Guard officer who has served as the 29th United States secretary of defense since 2025. Hegseth studied politics at Princeton ...

said that restoring Ukraine's pre-2014 borders was "an unrealistic objective" that would "only prolong the war". He also said that while Ukraine must have "robust security guarantees", the U.S. "does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement." Hegseth added that the U.S. expected Europe to provide more financial and military assistance to Ukraine while the U.S. focuses on China and its own security. He said that no U.S. troops would be deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine, and that any peacekeeping force should not be under NATO command. Later that day, Trump held a phone call with Putin that he called "highly productive", and that they agreed to "have our respective teams start negotiations immediately" on an end to the war. Trump called Zelenskyy shortly after; Zelenskyy said that "Together with the U.S., we are charting our next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure a lasting, reliable peace". Ukrainian and European officials were concerned by Trump unilaterally opening negotiations with Putin. Zelenskyy said Ukraine would not accept an agreement made without it and Ukrainian foreign minister

Andrii Sybiha Andrii Ivanovych Sybiha (Андрій Іванович Сибіга; born 1 February 1975) is a Ukrainian statesman, diplomat, and jurist who became the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine and is currently the Minister of Forei ...

said that " Nothing can be discussed on Ukraine without Ukraine", while the EU foreign policy chief,

, said that "Europe must have a central role" in peace negotiations and that any agreement made without Ukraine or the EU would fail. British defense secretary

John Healey John Healey (born 13 February 1960) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Defence since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parl ...

also said that "There can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine." Trump denied that he was excluding Zelenskyy from the peace process, but said that Ukraine "need to have elections too" and claimed that favorability ratings of Zelenskyy were "not great". In a joint statement, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain re-affirmed their support for Ukraine's "independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity" and said that "Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations" and Ukraine must be given "strong security guarantees". French defense minister

said the U.S. seek "

peace through strength "Peace through strength" is a phrase that suggests that military power can help preserve peace. It has been used by many leaders from Roman Emperor Hadrian in the second century AD to former US President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. The concept h ...

" rather than "peace through weakness", and German defense minister

Boris Pistorius Boris Ludwig Pistorius (; born 14 March 1960) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who has been serving as Federal Minister of Defence in the governments of successive Chancellors Olaf Scholz and Fri ...

said the U.S. should not have given Russia concessions before negotiations began. Russia said in a statement that it was "impressed" with Trump's position compared to that of Biden. The day after the UDCG meeting, Hegseth said that "everything is on the table" in peace negotiations, including Ukrainian membership in NATO and a negotiated return to its pre-2014 borders. U.S. vice president

JD Vance James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman, August2, 1984) is an American politician, author, attorney, and Marine Corps veteran who is the 50th vice president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republic ...

added that the U.S. could use "military tools of leverage" if Russia did not negotiate in good faith. Vance and Zelenskyy led a meeting of U.S. and Ukrainian delegations at the 61st Munich Security Conference, which ran from 14 to 16 February. Zelenskyy also met with several U.S. senators from both major U.S. political parties. Vance's speech the MSC reiterated a call for European leaders to contribute more to Ukraine's defense while the U.S. focuses on China. On 15 February, Trump's envoy

said that European countries would not be directly involved in U.S. talks with Russia and Ukraine, though the next day U.S. Secretary of State

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (; born May 28, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 72nd United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state. A member of the Republican Party (United States) , Rep ...

said that both Ukraine and Europe would be part of any "real negotiations" to end the war, and Trump's other envoy,

Steve Witkoff Steven Charles Witkoff (born March 15, 1957) is an American real estate investor and lawyer who has served as the Ambassadors of the United States#Special envoys, representatives, and coordinators, United States Special Envoy to the Middle East ...

, rejected concerns that Ukraine or Europe would be excluded from peace talks. NATO secretary general

Mark Rutte Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as the 14th Secretary General of NATO, secretary general of NATO since October 2024. He previously served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, prime minister of the Neth ...

said that European countries needed to create their own plan if they wished to play a major role in a peace settlement, and Zelenskyy called for the creation of a unified

European army A European army is a hypothetical army of the European Union that would supersede the Common Security and Defence Policy and would go beyond the proposed European Defence Union. Since no such unified army is currently established, defence is a ...

to challenge Russia.

U.S.–Russia summit in Saudi Arabia

On 18 February, American and Russian delegations met in

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

, Saudi Arabia, for talks to develop a framework for further peace negotiations. The U.S. delegation was led by Rubio, joined by Witkoff and Michael Waltz, the U.S. national security advisor. The Russian delegation was led by foreign minister

and presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. The day prior, several European leaders met in Paris to discuss the war in Ukraine and Trump's peace efforts, including a proposal to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. However, at the summit Lavrov rejected any NATO peacekeeping force and said that "the expansion of NATO, the absorption of Ukraine by the North Atlantic Alliance, is a direct threat to the interests" of Russia. As a result of the summit, the U.S. and Russia agreed to restore staffing at each other's embassies and to explore the "economic and investment opportunities" that could arise as a result of a peace settlement in Ukraine. China praised the peace talks. Trump said that he was "very disappointed" in Ukraine being "upset" about not being invited to the summit because it "had a seat for three years and a long time before that", and said he would not be opposed to European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine. The summit was also intended to precede a future meeting between Putin and Trump, which Rubio said would "largely depend on whether we can make progress on ending the war in Ukraine." Rubio said Trump was trying to discern whether Russia was serious about wanting an end to the war, and that "the only way" to find out was "to test them, to basically engage with them and say, 'Okay, are you serious about ending the war? And if so, what are your demands? Are your public demands and your private demands different? After the summit, Turkish president

said his country would be the "ideal host" for future talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S., saying that both Russia and Ukraine view Turkey as a "reliable mediator".

Deterioration in U.S.–Ukraine relations

After Zelenskyy's October 2024 "victory plan" introduced the idea of transactional opportunities with Ukraine's natural resources, Trump said in early February 2025 that continued U.S. support for Ukraine would be conditional on the U.S. getting revenue from Ukraine's rare minerals. Zelenskyy proposed U.S. participation in developing Ukraine's natural resources in exchange for continued U.S. support to defend against Russia. On 17 February, reports emerged that the

Trump administration Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...

had asked that the U.S. be given ownership of half of Ukraine's mineral and oil resources, which Zelenskyy rejected reportedly because it did not offer Ukraine clear security guarantees. Trump had also demanded that Ukraine pay the U.S. in compensation for U.S. support during the war—the U.S. supplied Ukraine only from 2022 to 2024—and Trump later said that the U.S. had contributed to Ukraine. On 18 February, Trump said that Ukraine "could have made a deal" to avoid the war and that they "should have never started it." The next day, Trump said that Ukraine should have new presidential elections—elections scheduled for 2024 could not be held because Ukraine's constitution forbids elections during

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

—and claimed Zelenskyy's approval ratings were only 4 percent; Zelenskyy replied by saying that Trump was living in a Russian "disinformation bubble". Trump called Zelenskyy a "dictator without elections" on social media, and later said that he was negotiating "with no cards" for three years and "nothing got done". Trump said that Russia did attack Ukraine, but that Zelenskyy and Biden were at fault for failing to prevent the invasion. Trump's comments were criticized by U.S. allies: Both Macron and British prime minister

said Zelenskyy was Ukraine's "democratically elected leader". Macron said that this was "not the case for Vladimir Putin, who has been killing his opponents and manipulating his elections for a long time", and Starmer added that it is "perfectly reasonable" for Ukraine to suspend elections during wartime. German chancellor

called Trump's comments "false and dangerous". On 24 February, the

adopted the U.S.-sponsored UNSC Resolution 2774, which urged a lasting peace in Ukraine without a condemnation of Russia. Earlier, the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

adopted a resolution condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine that the U.S. voted against. On 27 February, Trump extended a series of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine for one year. Macron visited Trump in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on 24 February, during which he said that a truce between Russia and Ukraine could be agreed to in the coming weeks. Trump said he wanted the war to end as quickly as possible and supported the presence of European peacekeepers in Ukraine. Macron said that a truce should be negotiated first, and that any subsequent peace agreement should include security guarantees for Ukraine. Starmer visited Trump two days later on 27 February. Starmer had previously said that he is "ready and willing" to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine if there is a deal to end the war with Russia to ensure that the end of the war, would not "cannot merely become a temporary pause before Putin attacks again." While Starmer and Trump both praised each other and Trump signaled approval of much of what Starmer had asked of him, he did not convince Trump to promise a U.S. military backstop for a European-led peacekeeping force. Trump had said on 24 February that the U.S. and Ukraine were close to an agreement "where we get our money back over a period of time." On 25 February, negotiators for the two countries created a draft Ukraine–United States mineral resources agreement. The draft agreement did not contain explicit future U.S. security guarantees to Ukraine and would establish an investment fund for Ukraine's post-war reconstruction jointly owned by the two countries. Zelenskyy called the deal a "framework" to be finalized during a 28 February in-person meeting with Trump. Zelenskyy met Trump on 28 February in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. He sought to discuss the minerals agreement, push Trump to provide future U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, and restore their strained relationship. The meeting was preceded by tensions between the Trump administration, which wanted Ukraine to make concessions to Russia to swiftly end the war, and the Zelenskyy government, which distrusted Russia's commitment to abide by agreements without U.S. security guarantees. During the press brief in the

Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the president of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval room has three lar ...

, significant tension between Zelenskyy, Trump, and Vance arose. Vance said that diplomacy was the only way to end the war, to which Zelenskyy responded by saying that Putin had not respected previous ceasefires with Ukraine. Trump intervened to tell Zelenskyy he was acting disrespectfully, accusing him of "gambling with World War III" and refusing peace talks. The visit abruptly ended with Zelenskyy and the rest of the Ukrainian delegation being asked to leave the White House, while the minerals deal—for which Trump and Zelenskyy had scheduled a signing ceremony for later that day—went unsigned.

Trump–Zelenskyy meeting aftermath

On 1 March, the day after the Trump–Zelenskyy meeting, ''

'' reported that Trump was considering halting all military aid to Ukraine. The U.S. suspended all military aid to Ukraine on 3 March, for which Trump cited dissatisfaction with Zelenskyy's commitment to peace negotiations with Russia, and the U.S. government said the pause was necessary to ensure that U.S. aid was "contributing to a solution" rather than prolonging the conflict. On 2 March, Zelenskyy said to the British media that he believes the relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine can be restored and that he was ready to sign the Ukraine–U.S. minerals agreement, and that it was best to "leave he Trump meetingto history." During his speech to the U.S. Congress on 4 March, Trump addressed Zelenskyy with a more conciliatory message, and mentioned that Zelenskyy was ready to sign the minerals deal and that he would ensure a quick settlement to the war. On 5 March, the U.S. halted intelligence sharing with Ukraine, which U.S.

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

director

John Ratcliffe John Lee Ratcliffe (born October 20, 1965) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the ninth director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) since 2025. He previously served as the sixth director of national intelligence from ...

suggested was temporary, saying that "the pause I think will go away". On 2 March, international leaders convened at the London Summit on Ukraine hosted by the United Kingdom. Starmer had called the summit to draft a peace plan for Ukraine that can then be brought to Trump, and to create a "

" of European nations willing to defend Ukraine that could present the plan. Leaders present at the London Summit were Starmer, Zelenskyy, Macron, the leaders of thirteen other EU member states, Canadian prime minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

president

António Costa António Luís Santos da Costa (; born 17 July 1961) is a Portuguese lawyer and politician who has served as President of the European Council since 2024. He previously served as the 118th prime minister of Portugal from 2015 to 2024 and th ...

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

president

Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...

, and NATO secretary general Mark Rutte. Zelenskyy also met with

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

while in the United Kingdom. During the summit, Starmer and Macron proposed a limited one-month truce in Ukraine that could be made effective immediately, and during which negotiations on a long-term settlement with security guarantees for Ukraine could be held.

Thirty-day total ceasefire proposal

On 11 March, U.S. and Ukrainian officials met in

, Saudi Arabia, during which Ukraine accepted the U.S.'s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. As part of the agreement, the Trump administration resumed all military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, while Rubio said that a peace agreement now relied on Russia's approval of the ceasefire, saying that "The ball is now in their court." Pro-Kremlin Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev responded by saying that "Russia is advancing n the battlefield so it will be different with Russia. Any agreements should be on our terms, not American." President Zelenskyy's chief of staff

Andriy Yermak Andriy Borysovych Yermak (; born 21 November 1971)
...

said after the U.S.–Ukraine summit in Jeddah that "the key is now in Russia's hands. And the whole world will see who truly wants peace and who only talks about it." Macron, Starmer and other European leaders welcomed the agreement between the United States and Ukraine for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine. On 13 March, Putin stated there were issues which needed to be solved before Russia could agree to the proposed ceasefire, effectively rejecting the proposal. Later the same day, US Envoy Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow.

Energy infrastructure strike moratorium

On 18 March, following a phone conversation between Trump and Putin, Russia agreed to stop attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure for one month, with exact conditions unclear as of 26 March. Based on Ukraine and Russia public statements, they appear to agree that a ceasefire on strikes against energy infrastructure is active as of 25 March. Russian officials are claiming that Russia adheres to ceasefire as of 18 March, immediately after Putin's order. Ukrainian officials state that ceasefire on energy and Black Sea strikes came into force after the publication of the joint US-Ukrainian statement on March 25. As of March 26, ceasefire agreements remain unpublished, and their terms and specifics remain unclear. Although the conditions of ceasefire remain unclear, both Ukraine and Russia accused each other of ceasefire violations. Russia accused Ukraine of strikes on energy infrastructure at

Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...

Bryansk Bryansk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), Desna River, southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 379,152 at the 2021 census. Bryans ...

oblasts and

during 25–26 March, though local governors did not reported strikes as they usually do. Ukraine accused Russia of striking civilian infrastructure almost every night since 18 March, with eight strikes against energy infrastructure, without detailing the damaged energy facilities. As of ISW report of 27 March, Russia intensified strikes against civilian and critical non-energy infrastructure "in recent days", launching, for example, a

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...

and 86 drones on the night of 26–27 March onto Ukraine, damaging civilian infrastructure, according to UAF. The energy infrastructure agreement expired on 18 April and was not renewed.

Easter truce

On 19 April, Putin announced Russia's intention to implement a 30-hour truce (from 6:00 p.m. MSK on 19 April to 11:59 p.m. MSK on 20 April) to last through

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

; Ukraine immediately accepted this proposal. This was the first time ground hostilities were officially paused since the beginning of the invasion. Russia's offer was perceived as a move designed to appease Trump, who had demanded that some progress towards peace be shown by the end of April. Both sides accused each other of truce violations. On 24 April, Trump criticized Russia's missile and drone attack on

and Putin's determination to continue the war, posting on social media: "Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!"

US ultimate peace proposal

On 23 April 2025, the United States presented what it claimed was its ultimate peace proposal. Under its terms, the United States would offer

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

recognition of Russian control of Crimea and de facto recognition of Russian control of

and Russian-controlled parts of

, and

; Ukraine would be barred from joining NATO but receive unspecified security guarantees; sanctions on Russia would be removed and US-Russian cooperation on energy and other industrial sectors resumed; the US would operate the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and use it to provide energy to both Russia and Ukraine. Neither Ukraine nor Russia accepted the proposal.

Resumption of direct negotiations

On May 15, Russian and Ukrainian delegations held direct talks in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

for the first time since early 2022. On the meetings which continued 2 June delegations exchanged their largely incompatible negotiation positions and only agreed on humanitarian issues such as exchange of prisoners and bodies. On 3 June Dmitry Medvedev commented that the negotiations are "not for striking a compromise peace on someone else's delusional terms but for ensuring our swift victory and the complete destruction of the neo-Nazi regime". In June 2025, a majority of U.S. senators supported secondary sanctions against Russia to increase pressure on Putin, which would impose 500%

tariffs A tariff or import tax is a duty imposed by a national government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods or raw materials and is ...

on countries that buy Russian oil,

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

and other exports.

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

are the main consumers of Russian energy. Majority Leader

John Thune John Randolph Thune ( ; born January 7, 1961) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Dakota, a seat he has held since 2005. A Republican, Thune has been the Senate majority leader and Senate Republica ...

said senators "stand ready to provide President Trump with any tools he needs to get Russia to finally come to the table in a real way."

Overview of key negotiation points

Key negotiation points proposed or negotiated since the full-scale

on 24 February 2022 including the following.

Opinion polls

Polls of Ukrainians

In a poll conducted by the

Kyiv International Institute of Sociology Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS; , КМІС) is a Ukrainian organization conducting sociological research in the fields of social and socioeconomic research, marketing research, political research, health studies, and research con ...

(KIIS) in May 2022, 82% of surveyed Ukrainians said they opposed any territorial concessions to Russia, even if that meant prolonging the war. Another KIIS poll conducted in September 2022 found that 87% of surveyed Ukrainians opposed any territorial concessions to Russia. A Gallup poll conducted in Ukraine in early September 2022 found that 70% of Ukrainians wanted to continue fighting until they achieve victory, while only 26% favored negotiations to end the war as soon as possible. According to an opinion poll conducted in July 2022, 58% of Ukrainians said that

must be returned to Ukraine. In a survey of 1,200 Ukrainians conducted by KIIS in February 2024, 72% of respondents said that Ukraine should seek a diplomatic way to end the war in addition to a military solution. In March 2024, the

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., with operations in Europe, South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East, as well as the United States. Foun ...

sponsored a survey of 2,000 Ukrainians in non-occupied Ukraine. Of the respondents: * 43% supported peace negotiations with Russia, while 54% were against. * 96% supported an end to the war whereby Russia withdraws from all occupied territories, including 94% of those who supported negotiations. * 73% believed that Ukraine will eventually liberate all occupied territories. * 65% opposed freezing the war at the current frontline, while 22% were in favor. * 60% opposed giving up Ukraine's NATO membership bid as a concession, while 20% were in favor. * 83% opposed limits on Ukraine's military as a concession. * 86% believed that Russia will attack again even if there is a peace treaty, and 91% believed that Russia's motive for negotiations is to prepare for a new attack. In a survey of Ukrainians conducted by the KIIS between 26 May and 1 June 2024, 58% of respondents said they opposed concessions in negotiations with Russia, down from 80% in May 2022. In a survey by ZN.ua media in July 2024, 44% of Ukrainians supported peace negotiations with Russia.

Polls of Russians

According to a survey conducted by the

Levada Center The Levada Center is a Russian independent, nongovernmental polling and sociological research organization. It is named after its founder, the first Russian professor of sociology Yuri Levada (1930–2006). The center traces back its history t ...

at the end of October 2022, 57% of Russian respondents favored the start of peace talks with Ukraine, and 36% preferred the continuation of hostilities. The Kremlin's analysis concluded that public support in Russia for the war was broad but not deep, and that most Russians would accept anything Putin would call a victory. In September 2023, the head of the VTsIOM state pollster Valery Fyodorov said in an interview that only 10-15% of Russians actively supported the war, and that "most Russians are not demanding the conquest of Kyiv or Odesa."

Polls of other nations

A poll of Germans conducted by the Forsa and published in January 2023 found that over 80% believe it is more important to end the war through negotiations than for Ukraine to win, with only 18% disagreeing. A

YouGov YouGov plc is a international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm headquartered in the UK with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. History 2000–2010 Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim ...

poll showed that in February 2023, 63% of respondents in Sweden wanted to support Ukraine in a war with Russia until Russian troops leave all occupied territories, even if it means prolonging the war. The corresponding figures were: in Denmark, 56%; in Britain 53%; in the United States 46%; in Spain 44%; Germany 40%; France 37% and Italy 29%. Between May and October 2023, US public support for arming Ukraine in its war against Russia decreased. By October 2023, support for US weapon shipments to Ukraine had dropped from 46% to 41% (again, compared with a poll taken in May 2023). Both sides of the political spectrum saw a decline. Since the counteroffensive started in June 2023, Ukrainian forces have only retaken a series of small villages and settlements and are only in control of a small percentage of the territories occupied by Russian forces during the conflict.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2022 Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations Peace negotiations Russia–Ukraine relations