Putin Issues Ultimatum: Russia Ready to Halt War if Ukraine Withdraws From Annexed Regions

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Thursday that Moscow is ready to halt its military operations immediately, but only if Ukrainian troops completely withdraw from the four regions Russia illegally annexed in 2022—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson—while the international community recognises Crimea as Russian territory. Speaking to reporters during an official visit to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, he presented Kyiv with an uncompromising choice: voluntary retreat from the claimed lands or continued Russian conquest until every square metre is seized by force.

Putin confirmed he has reviewed the shortened U.S. peace plan—now reportedly reduced to around twenty points after the original draft provoked outrage in Kyiv and European capitals—and described it as an acceptable starting point for talks. However, he stressed that any final agreement must include binding global recognition of Russia’s annexations, a demand that remains the single largest obstacle to ending the nearly four-year war.

On the military front, Putin claimed Russian forces have fully encircled the vital Donetsk strongholds of Pokrovsk and Myrnograd—using their Soviet-era names—and are making irreversible gains toward key logistical centres including Vovchansk, Siversk, and Guliaipole. Ukraine firmly rejects the encirclement claims and insists its defensive lines remain intact, yet data from the Institute for the Study of War shows Russian troops capturing an average of 467 square kilometres per month in 2025, marking the fastest territorial advance since the full-scale invasion began.

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Kyiv’s reaction was immediate and defiant. Andriy Yermak, President Zelensky’s chief of staff, told The Atlantic that territorial concessions are impossible, stating categorically: “As long as Zelensky is president, he will not sign away territory.” Putin, for his part, once again challenged Zelensky’s legitimacy—claiming it would be “almost impossible” to conclude a legally valid agreement with him—further poisoning the atmosphere ahead of diplomacy.

With U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff due in Moscow next week and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll heading to Kyiv within days, Putin’s unyielding ultimatum and Russia’s accelerating battlefield momentum have dramatically narrowed the window for a compromise that could end Europe’s deadliest conflict in eighty years.

Also Read: Russia Responds Cautiously to New US Plan for Ukraine Peace Deal