Kremlin says Ukraine should withdraw troops from Donbas, and a Putin-Trump call expected soon


U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin walk to a joint news conference following their meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS

MOSCOW, Dec 29 (Reuters) - The ‌Kremlin said on Monday that Ukraine should withdraw its troops ‌from the part of Donbas that it still controls if ‌it wanted peace, and that if Kyiv did not strike a deal then it would lose yet more territory.

Putin and Trump spoke on Sunday ahead of Trump's meeting ‍in Miami with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Kremlin ‍spokesman Dmitry Peskov said ‌another call was planned very soon.

Peskov refused to comment on the idea ‍of ​a free economic zone in Donbas or on the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is controlled by ⁠Russia, saying that the Kremlin felt it was inappropriate.

When ‌asked about Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov's remarks about the decision that Kyiv needed ⁠to take on ‍Donbas, Peskov said that Ukraine should withdraw its troops from the parts they still controlled.

"We are talking about the withdrawal of the regime's armed forces ‍from the Donbas," Peskov said. When asked ‌it that applied to the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions too, he refused to discuss details.

Russia currently controls a fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea which it annexed in 2014, about 90% of Donbas, 75% of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and slivers of the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to Russian estimates.

Russia claims Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as part ‌of Russia, though most countries consider the regions to be part of Ukraine.

Peskov said no call between Putin and Zelenskiy was being discussed.

Peskov paraphrased Trump's remarks ​that Ukraine could lose more territory to Russia over coming months unless Kyiv struck a deal.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Next In World

1st LD Writethru: Canada announces counter-tariffs on over 700 U.S. goods
2nd LD Writethru: 3 killed in fire at Russian gas chemical complex
Kenya bans entry of pesticides prohibited abroad
6 migrant bodies found in desert in SE Libya
Russia says it struck five vessels in Ukraine's Black Sea ports
Canada slaps retaliatory tariffs on US goods worth $20 billion as trade war intensifies
Exclusive-Ukraine needs changes to avoid losing war, ousted defence minister says
Trump says Strait of Hormuz has been demined, warns Iran not to plant more
US spy chief visits Russia for meetings, media reports
US military transport plane lands in Moscow, Kremlin says it has no information yet

Others Also Read