Russian President Vladimir Putin has presented a set of conditions for ending the war in Ukraine—demands that remain largely unchanged since before he began the full-scale invasion over three years ago.
According to three Russian sources cited by Reuters, Putin is insisting on a written guarantee from Western leaders that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO. This demand directly challenges the alliance’s core principle that any European country can join if all member states agree.
Putin is also pushing for NATO to halt further expansion eastward, including denying membership to Georgia and Moldova. In addition, he wants the West to lift economic sanctions that have severely impacted Russia’s economy. Other key demands include the unfreezing of Russian assets and assurances for the rights and “protection” of Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine.
Reports reveal that Putin is open to peace—but strictly on his own terms. If diplomacy fails to deliver those terms, the Kremlin could try to force concessions through battlefield gains, signaling that delaying peace now might lead to harsher terms later.
However, Ukrainian officials remain deeply skeptical of Putin’s intentions. They argue that his actions contradict his rhetoric and point to Russia’s history of broken promises, such as violating the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which Russia pledged to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty in exchange for it giving up nuclear weapons. Cmdr. Oleh Victorovich of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said Putin’s list is essentially a “wish list,” calling it untrustworthy and unserious.
“He’s asking for an elephant, knowing he’ll get a donkey,” Victorovich said, using a Ukrainian idiom to describe Putin’s approach. He noted that while peace talks are discussed, Russia continues to escalate military attacks across the front, using drones and missiles to pressure Ukraine and boost Putin’s negotiating leverage through force.
The essence of Putin’s demands isn’t new. He has long cited NATO’s expansion and Ukraine’s potential membership as a threat—claims that helped justify the 2022 invasion. But the outcome has been the opposite of what Putin wanted: Sweden and Finland have since joined NATO, and both Georgia and Bosnia have expressed stronger interest in membership.
These latest demands come amid rising tensions with former U.S. President Donald Trump, who has expressed frustration with Putin’s refusal to engage in meaningful dialogue. While Ukraine has accepted several U.S.-backed proposals, including a 30-day cease-fire and Zelensky’s willingness to meet directly, Putin has resisted all such overtures.
Trump warned on Truth Social that Putin is “playing with fire,” and on Wednesday told reporters he is giving the Russian leader about two weeks to demonstrate genuine intent to pursue peace: “We’re going to find out whether or not he’s stringing us along, and if he is, we’ll respond differently—but we’ll know in a week and a half.”
