Ukraine could agree to give up territory already controlled by Russia in exchange for a path to NATO, the report claims

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky could agree to concede land to Russia and the freezing of the current front lines as part of a potential conflict settlement, the Daily Telegraph reported on Monday, citing sources. Publicly, however, he has refused to consider giving up territory.

The proposed deal would see Ukraine concede control over the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) and Crimea as well as Russian-held parts of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. These regions overwhelmingly voted to join Russia in referendums in 2014 and 2022.

However, despite the apparent change of tune, Ukraine remains strongly opposed to any settlement in which it gives up more land than what is currently controlled by Russian forces, the report claims. In exchange, however, Ukraine would demand "robust security guarantees," including weapons deliveries from the West and a clear path to NATO membership, according to the report.

The apparent softening of Zelensky's stance comes ahead of the highly anticipated summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, on Friday.

An unnamed Western official told the British daily that "the plan can only be related to the current positions held by the militaries," adding that the weekend saw some frantic diplomacy between Kiev and its Western backers. The report also claims that the EU had decided to support Ukraine's vision for peace in an effort to boost its diplomatic position in dealing with both Trump and Russia.

On Monday, Trump said that he and Putin would discuss a potential deal that would involve a land swap between Russia and Ukraine, noting it would be "to the betterment of both." Apart from the aforementioned territory, Moscow also currently controls swaths of land in Kharkov, Sumy and Dnepropetrovsk regions.

Zelensky has publicly rejected any territorial concessions to Russia. Moscow has insisted that any peace deal must involve Ukraine's withdrawal from Donbass, Zaporozhye Region and Kherson Region, Kiev's commitment to stay out of NATO, as well as the country's demilitarization and denazification.

(RT.com)