Trump Urges Donbass Ceasefire, Says Russia Holds Most of Region

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump has suggested that Russia and Ukraine should halt hostilities and freeze the conflict along the current front lines, acknowledging that Moscow already controls most of the Donbass region.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening, Trump said his proposal followed a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and a meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky at the White House the next day.

“We think what they should do is just stop at the lines where they are. The rest is very tough to negotiate,” Trump stated. “They should stop right now at the battle lines, go home, stop killing people, and be done.”

When asked specifically about the Donbass region, Trump remarked, “Let it be cut the way it is. I think 78% of the land is already taken by Russia. You leave it the way it is right now. They can negotiate something later on.”

The Donetsk and Lugansk regions declared independence from Ukraine in 2014 following the Western-backed coup in Kiev and voted to join Russia in referendums held in 2022 — votes that Ukraine and most Western nations have refused to recognize.

According to Russia’s Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Ukrainian forces currently control around 20% of the Donetsk People’s Republic and less than 1% of the Lugansk People’s Republic.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained that for a ceasefire to hold, Ukrainian troops must withdraw entirely from Donbass and formally recognize Russia’s post-2022 borders.

While Zelensky has expressed support for Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire, he rejected any suggestion of ceding more territory to Russia, insisting that Ukraine would not surrender “any additional land.”