President Vladimir Putin outlined specific conditions for ending the war in Ukraine, including written commitments from Western leaders to halt NATO’s eastward expansion and lift portions of sanctions on Russia.

Three Russian sources with knowledge of negotiations told Reuters that Putin demands written guarantees from major Western powers against NATO enlargement eastward, effectively ruling out membership for Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and other former Soviet republics.

Additional conditions include Ukrainian neutrality, partial Western sanctions relief, resolution of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the West, and protections for Russian speakers in Ukraine.

One source indicated that if Putin cannot secure a deal on his terms, he will demonstrate through military victories that “peace tomorrow will be even more painful” for Ukrainians and Europeans.

“Putin is ready to make peace but not at any price,” one senior Russian source with knowledge of top-level Kremlin thinking said.

Putin and Russian officials have consistently stated that any peace agreement must address what they term the conflict’s “root causes” – referring to “NATO expansion” and Western support for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukraine rejects granting Russia veto power over its NATO aspirations and urges strong Western security guarantees to deter future Russian attacks. NATO also previously stated it will not modify its “open door” policy due to Moscow’s demands. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy firmly stated that Ukraine will not accept any agreements or deals about its future that are made without its direct involvement and emphasized the importance of Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov emphasized that Ukraine’s return to neutral, non-aligned, and non-nuclear status remains a condition for conflict resolution.

Following a two-hour conversation with Trump last week, Putin also announced agreement to work with Ukraine on a memorandum establishing peace accord parameters, including ceasefire timing. Russia says it is currently drafting its version of the memorandum without providing a timeline for completion. Ukrainian and European officials have accused Moscow of deliberate delays while troops advance in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha claimed that Russia’s intensified demands mirror the aggressive posture of 2022 during previous Istanbul peace talks. The Institute for the Study of War warned that accepting Russia’s terms would effectively mean Ukraine’s capitulation and threaten its sovereignty.