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By Peter Aitken and Gabe Whisnant
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The United States intends to press Russia to formally acknowledge Ukraine's right to maintain its own military and defense industry as a core element of any future peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv, people familiar with the negotiations told Bloomberg News.
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. State Department by submission form on Thursday afternoon for comment.
Why It Matters
The Trump administration has started to feel the strain and frustration of attempting to secure a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. President Donald Trump promised during his 2024 campaign to end the conflict in 24 hours after taking office, but nearly 100 days into his second administration, he has indicated he will walk away unless a deal soon materializes.
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Most recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the administration over reports that negotiators would seek territorial concessions from Kyiv—a redline Zelensky has repeatedly stressed his country will not cross.
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What To Know
According to Bloomberg, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to raise the issue of Ukraine's right to maintain its own military with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their upcoming discussions.
Ukraine and European allies stressed that Kyiv must have the ability to adequately equip and man its own army, but Putin would have to concede on his goal of demilitarizing Ukraine.
However, it would present a significant change in the U.S. approach to negotiations, which until recently have given the impression of seeking to appease Russia in order to bring Putin and his team to the negotiation table. Now, the administration appears to be trying to find concessions on both sides.
Other potential concessions mentioned in Bloomberg's report include the return of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility, which the U.S. would control and administer to ensure neutrality (although the details remain up in the air and subject to change), and the U.S. would also seek assurances that Ukraine has passage over the Dnieper River, and land occupied by Russia in Kharkiv would return to Ukraine.
Putin has insisted upon the recognition of Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Kherson regions as Russian after taking them in the early stages of the February 24, 2022, invasion.
The U.S. meanwhile continues to contend with European allies over what the potential post-war landscape could look like, with Britain and France looking to form a "reassurance force" that would help safeguard Ukraine's military stability. The U.S. has not committed to any contribution to such a force, and Russia has made clear it would not accept NATO troops in Ukraine.
Additionally, reports that the U.S. would look to recognize Crimea—taken by Russia in 2014—as Russian territory have strained relations between the Trump administration and Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio abruptly withdrew from negotiations in London after Ukraine made it clear it is not willing to recognize Crimea as Russian territory.
But Trump has called on Russia to cease its attacks on Kyiv and Ukrainian targets, recognizing that they present roadblocks to negotiations at a critical time when the administration feels that a deal could be close to completion.
"I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump on Thursday during a press gaggle: "We are thinking very strongly that they both want peace, but they have to get to the table. We're waiting a long time. We have to get them to the table. I think we're going to get peace. We want to save 5000 young people....We have about 5000 young people a week that are dying in that ridiculous war. I started out because I didn't like all money we were paying, and then I realized how many people were dying, and that's by far the more important element right now....I don't like that it takes long at all, but I think they both want to make peace. I do believe so. There's a lot of hatred there, there's a lot of very bad blood, a lot of disgust, but I think—I hope we're going to get there, for the sake of a lot of young people who are dying."
What Happens Next
The Trump administration is continuing to push for a deal with Ukraine and Russia, meeting with European allies such as Norway to find what it will take to secure peace between the two nations and an end to the war.
Update 4/24/25, 2:05 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include additional information, context and comment.
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