After meeting Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump has to welcome Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as his European allies on Monday, August 18. Objective, converge points of view to achieve lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia, more than three years after the Moscow offensive.
Main element of the negotiation, the future of the Ukrainian regions occupied by Russia since 2022. Officially, Moscow claims the Ukrainian regions it occupies: the Oblast of Louhansk, the Oblast of Donetsk, the Oblast of Zaporijia and the Oblast of Kherson, which are all border workers of Russia, as you can see on our interactive map.
Russia currently occupies 19% of the Ukrainian territory. In detail, it occupies 99% of the Louhansk region, 75% of that of Donetsk, 73% of that of Zaporijia, around 70% of the Kherson Oblast, 4% of the Kharkiv region and 1% of the Soumy region.
Concessions from Putin?
According to President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, Vladimir Putin would have made concessions and would no longer wait until the four regions -donetsk, Louhansk, Zaporijia and Kherson, in blue on the map, which he partially took control by force, and annexed.
According to an official on the current of telephone exchanges between Donald Trump and European leaders, who confided in AFP, the American president supports a proposal from Russia providing for a total control of two Ukrainian regions, as well as the frozen frost in two other regions on which Moscow has only part.
A region is particularly interested in Moscow
Concretely, Putin would like the oblast of Donetsk and Louhansk, who form the Dombass two, leave Ukraine and join Russia.
The British media The Telegraph specifies according to its sources that it is especially the total control of the Oblast of Donetsk which interests Moscow, an area rich in minerals and therefore with high strategic value.
For Zelensky, “Russia must not be rewarded for its participation in this war”
A hypothesis which however seems not to convince the Ukrainian president. In a long message on X, Volodymyr Zelensky warns. “Russia should not be rewarded for its participation in this war. It is necessary to end the war. And it is in Moscow that the watchword must be given: Stop,” he wrote while the Russian strikes continue, a few hours before the start of the meeting.
This was a demonstrative and cynical Russian strike. They are aware that a meeting is taking place today in Washington that will address the end of the war.
We will have a discussion with President Trump about key issues. Along with Ukraine, the leaders of the United Kingdom,… pic.twitter.com/p62L8tAKx5
– Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@zelenskyyua) August 18, 2025
The territorial ambitions of Vladimir Putin in Ukraine dates back more than ten years, when Russia invaded Crimea, in red on the map, then annexed it, in 2014. Quasi-certainty, the situation of this territory will not change.
“The Ukrainian President Zelensky can end the war with Russia almost immediately if he wants it, or he can continue to fight. Remember how it started. No question of recovering the Crimea given by Obama (12 years ago, without a single shot being fired) and no question for Ukraine to enter NATO,” said Donald Trump.
