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Putin envoy says Ukraine ceding Donbas is 'path to peace'

27.01.2026 13:45
Russian President Vladimir Putin's special ‌envoy Kirill ‌Dmitriev said ‍on Tuesday that Ukraine withdrawing from the Donbas region would be the "path to peace," repeating Moscow's longstanding demand as diplomatic efforts to end the war intensify.
Photo:
Photo:IAR/Cezary Piwowarski

"Donbas withdrawal ‍is the ⁠path to peace ⁠for ​Ukraine," Dmitriev wrote on X.

Russia controls ‌about 90 percent of ​the ​Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and is doubling down on its efforts to seize the remainder.

Putin has repeatedly said Moscow will take the rest of Donbas by force unless Ukraine cedes the territory, the Reuters news agency reported.

Donald Trump's administration in Washington has signalled that US security guarantees for Ukraine could depend on Kyiv agreeing to a peace settlement requiring it to give up the Donbas region, according to a report on Tuesday by the Financial Times.

Delegations from Ukraine, Russia and the United States held talks over the weekend in Abu Dhabi that focused on territorial issues, including the disputed Donbas region, according to reports.

The meeting in the Emirati capital marked the first time representatives of all three countries took part in trilateral talks aimed at ending Russia’s nearly four-year war against Ukraine, Poland’s PAP news agency reported.

'The Donbas issue is key': Ukraine's Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that "the Donbas issue is key" in the negotiations.

He also said an agreement on US-backed security guarantees for Ukraine was ready to be signed, with the timing and location dependent on US President Donald Trump.

“It’s up to him,” Zelensky said. “We are ready to sign these documents, which I want to stress again have historic significance.”

Zelensky said last week that he held "productive and substantive" talks with Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, although territorial issues remained unresolved.

He added that an agreement on Ukraine’s postwar economic recovery was nearing completion as part of efforts to end the conflict.

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Source: Reuters, IAR, PAP