“`html
Speculation persists regarding the potential for the forthcoming summit between Presidents Trump and Putin to precipitate a forced and fundamental redrawing of the map of Ukraine.
Russia has asserted claims over substantial portions of Ukrainian territory since 2014, marking President Vladimir Putin’s initial incursions.
During that year, Moscow orchestrated the relatively bloodless occupation and subsequent annexation of the Crimean Peninsula within a matter of months.
This action was succeeded by the emergence of a Russian-backed separatist movement in the eastern Donbas region, specifically encompassing the Donetsk and Luhansk “oblasts.”
A protracted conflict simmered in this area for eight years.
Ukraine suffered approximately 14,000 casualties, including both soldiers and civilians, throughout this period.
In February 2022, President Putin initiated a full-scale invasion, resulting in Russian forces rapidly advancing to the outskirts of Kyiv and seizing considerable expanses of territory in the south, encompassing significant portions of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts.
The conflict has since experienced fluctuations in intensity. Russia presently controls a smaller area than it did in the spring of 2022, decreasing from approximately 27% to around 20%. Russian forces are currently advancing in the east, albeit at a gradual pace and with considerable losses.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has emphasized the immediate need for an unconditional ceasefire. European allies have echoed this sentiment, insisting on a cessation of hostilities. Former US President Donald Trump has stated that he has been actively pursuing this objective.
However, in the lead-up to his summit with President Putin in Alaska, Mr. Trump has broached the possibility of territorial swaps, a suggestion that has reverberated through Kyiv and across Europe.
The specific territories under consideration, and the potential configurations of such swaps, remain unclear, particularly given that the land in question is legally recognized as Ukrainian territory.
As of August 2025, the territorial landscape of Ukraine is as follows:
Russia aims to consolidate its control over the entirety of Luhansk and Donetsk.
Reports suggest that President Putin is demanding that Ukraine relinquish its remaining territorial control within both oblasts.
Such a concession would necessitate Kyiv ceding control of areas where tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have perished defending, including cities such as Kramatorsk and Slovyansk, as well as a fortified line safeguarding Ukrainian territory to the north and west.
For Kyiv, this would represent a difficult decision. For Moscow, whose losses have been even more catastrophic, it would be seen as victory.
President Zelenskyy stated on Tuesday that Ukraine “could not” relinquish the Donbas region, asserting that Moscow would exploit it as a staging ground for further attacks on the rest of the country.
Recent days have witnessed intensified Russian military activity near the town of Dobropillya. However, the strategic significance of these movements remains uncertain, with speculation that it is an effort to show Trump that Moscow has the upper hand.
What about Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, captured in 2022?
Reports indicate that Russia is proposing a cessation of its offensive and a freezing of current front lines.
But would Russia be prepared to cede any of its captured territory?
On Monday, Mr. Trump alluded to “ocean-front property,” presumably referencing portions of the shoreline along the Sea of Azov or the Black Sea.
However, this region forms a strategically vital land bridge connecting Russia to occupied Crimea.
It is difficult to envision President Putin consenting to relinquish control of this area. Like Donetsk and Luhansk, he considers these territories part of Russia, having illegally annexed them three years ago following referendums widely dismissed as shams.
For Ukraine and Europe, territorial swaps at this early stage of discussions are not a viable option.
Discussions regarding future borders may eventually occur, but only after the cessation of hostilities and the establishment of guarantees for Ukraine’s security.
Kim Jong Un provides Moscow with artillery, missiles – and as a BBC investigation shows, labourers working in ‘slave-like’ condition.
The EU says “the people of Ukraine must have the freedom to decide their future”.
More than 50,000 North Koreans will be sent to work in Russia, as Moscow’s war in Ukraine drains labour pools.
The US president says talks with Putin on Friday will be a “feel-out meeting” aimed at urging Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
The US president is set to meet with Russian President Putin in Alaska concerning a potential ceasefire.
“`