The American newspaper The New York Times writes that in possible negotiations with Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not ask for Ukrainian territories, but something much more important.
Putin will probably try to win a strategic political victory in the war in exchange for giving up territorial claims in Ukraine, The New York Times reports, citing analysts. The publication notes that a real victory for Putin would not be the seizure of four more Ukrainian regions in addition to Crimea, but the return of all of Ukraine under Moscow's political influence.
This would mean, in particular, a ban on Ukraine's entry into NATO and generally on military cooperation with the West, the establishment of a pro-Russian government in Kiev, the limitation of Ukraine's defense potential, etc.
This is probably what Putin will pursue in his personal meeting with Trump, and not Ukrainian lands. And this could be Russia's victory in the war.
The specific agreements reached by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Moscow remain unknown to this day. Both sides have spoken positively about this conversation, but its specific content has remained classified from the general public.
Over the past few months, Russian envoys have been adamant that Ukraine must hand over the Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions to Russia without objection. Washington has rightly dismissed these demands as unreasonable and seen them as a sign that Moscow is not serious about talks to end the war.
However, some analysts suggest that Putin deliberately ordered his envoys to take this hard line in order to secure a possible personal meeting with Trump. Moscow is apparently hoping that in a one-on-one meeting, Putin will be able to convince Trump of Russia's vision of the "root causes of the conflict."
In the upcoming negotiations, Moscow will indeed be ready to give up its claims to certain territories in order to achieve a more global goal.
Putin wants Ukraine to cease to be what he considers an "anti-Russian project," that is, to return to Moscow's sphere of influence. Therefore, he will either achieve this through guarantees from NATO, or he will achieve it through political control within Ukraine. Territory is very secondary.