Russian President Vladimir Putin has expanded his territorial claims to Ukraine and no longer intends to cede territories controlled by Russia, Bloomberg reported, citing its sources.
According to the information, Putin seeks not only full control over Donbas, but also to maintain Russian control over the captured parts of Sumy and Kharkiv regions, which Moscow views as buffer zones.
The sources claim that the Kremlin has abandoned the idea of any territorial concessions to Ukraine, as it believes that the United States has abandoned the informal agreements reached during the Alaska summit in August 2025.
According to two of the sources, Russia is ready to will return to negotiations only after establishing control over the entire Donetsk region. One of them claims that the Russian Ministry of Defense has assured Putin that this goal can be achieved by the end of the year.
However, a source close to the ministry told the agency that many in Russian military circles consider this deadline unrealistic. In their assessment, the capture of the entire Donetsk region would be possible as early as 2027.
In recent weeks, Russian officials have accused Washington of backing away from the agreements reached in Alaska. The United States rejects this claim and maintains that proposals were discussed during the Anchorage meeting, but no agreements were reached.