Media: Putin Agrees To Compromises On Donbas In A Peace Treaty With Ukraine

• 21.10.2026, 13:19

Whitcoff brought proposals that had been agreed upon the day before during talks with Zelenskyy in Oslo.

Vladimir Putin may consider a compromise to end the war in Ukraine that would involve the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the part of the Donbas controlled by Kyiv and the establishment of a demilitarized zone there.

In exchange, Ukraine could receive security guarantees similar to those provided by Article 5 of the NATO Charter, but without joining the Alliance.

This was reported by “Agency” citing a source familiar with the progress of the negotiations.

On October 21, a meeting began in St. Petersburg between Putin and the U.S. President’s Special Representative Steve Whitcoff, who brought proposals agreed upon the day before during talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo.

On the Russian side, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration Maxim Oreshkin is also participating in the meeting. This may indicate that issues of economic cooperation are being discussed.

According to a source at “The Agency,” a possible compromise involves the creation of a demilitarized zone in Donbas, similar to the one on the Korean Peninsula, and the provision of security guarantees to Kyiv in the event of renewed aggression.

At the same time, Moscow has not publicly renounced the demands articulated by Putin in the summer of 2024. On October 16, the Russian president once again identified the capture of the entire Donetsk region as one of the main objectives.

The Ukrainian president also confirmed that security guarantees analogous to NATO’s Article 5 were discussed during the negotiations in Oslo. According to him, the relevant document provides for several options for such guarantees.