Putin indicated Russia could be open to territory swap as part of Ukraine deal, Kommersant says

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a State Council meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia December 25, 2025. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/Pool via REUTERS

MOSCOW, Dec 26 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin told ‌some of Russia's top businessmen that he might be open to swapping some territory controlled by ‌Russian forces in Ukraine but that he wanted the whole of Donbas, the Kommersant newspaper reported.

Andrei ‌Kolesnikov, the Kremlin correspondent for the Kommersant, one of Russia's top newspapers, said that Putin briefed top businessmen on the details of the plan at a late-night Kremlin meeting on December 24.