In the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the status of disputed territories is emerging as a pivotal element.

Recent reports indicate that the United States might be willing to acknowledge Russia’s hold over Crimea and other Ukrainian areas under its control, as part of a possible agreement to end hostilities.

According to sources speaking to the Daily Telegraph, President Trump has dispatched his envoy, Steve Witkoff, along with his son-in-law and informal negotiator, Jared Kushner, to propose a peace deal to President Putin during a visit to Moscow.

These delicate negotiations coincide with the resignation of a key aide to President Zelensky. The aide stepped down shortly after authorities conducted searches at his residence and office, tied to a corruption investigation in which he was implicated.

Zelensky mentioned this development in a nonchalant manner amid broader updates on Ukraine’s involvement in the renewed peace efforts.

Despite these advances, skepticism persists within European circles regarding Ukraine’s future.

‘It’s increasingly clear the Americans don’t care about the European position. They say the Europeans can do whatever they want,’ one source told the Telegraph.

On Thursday, the Russian president said that any US move to formally acknowledge Crimea and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as part of Russia would be a central point in talks over the American President’s proposed peace plan.

A source tells the Daily Telegraph that President Trump has sent his envoy, Steve Witkoff, and unofficial negotiator, son–in–law Jared Kushner, to make an offer for peace to Putin, traveling to Moscow for the meeting

The high–wire meetings come just after Zelensky’s top aide departed from his post hours after authorities searched his home and his office –– the result of a corruption probe he was involved in. Zelensky announced the news casually between other details regarding Ukraine’s status updates in the renewed peace efforts

Black smoke billows from a fire on the Kerch bridge that links Crimea to Russia, after a truck exploded, near Kerch, on October 8, 2022

A police officer walks in front of a Novus logistics center damaged after a recent Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Nov. 25, 2025

On Friday, Russian leaders confirmed they had received updated peace plans that were created after emergency conversations between Ukrainian and American leaders in Geneva, Switzerland, last weekend.

In August, Putin and Trump met in Alaska for a high–stakes diplomatic summit. The Kremlin leader had said that legal acknowledgment of the land they had conquered so far would be a central issue in their willingness to come to the table for peace talks.

As part of a leaked 28–point peace plan, territorial agreement proposals were a big part, focusing the details on point 21.

That section proposes that Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk be acknowledged as de facto Russian, including by the United States.

Kherson and Zaporizhzhia would be frozen along the current line of contact, amounting to de facto recognition of that boundary. 

Russia would give up additional territories it holds outside these five regions. Ukrainian troops would withdraw from the remaining area of Donetsk they control, which would become a neutral, demilitarized buffer zone internationally recognized as Russian territory, with Russian forces barred from entering it.

During talks in Geneva, Ukrainian and US negotiators drafted a new 19–point plan that is less advantageous to Moscow. That plan would not oblige Kyiv to recognise Russia’s control of the regions Moscow has illegally annexed since 2014.

More diplomacy is set to take place at an American resort that has become almost synonymous with Trump: Mar–a–Lago.

Ukraine’s top aides, Andriy Yermak and Rustem Umerov, were expected to visit the Florida compound this weekend for discussions with US officials – before the former resigned. 

Donald Trump meets with Ukraine’s President Zelensky in the Oval Office at the White House back in August

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin leave following a press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15 in Anchorage, Alaska

More diplomacy is set to take place at an American resort that has become almost synonymous with Trump: Mar–a–Lago

Speaking to The Atlantic, Yermak, who helped shape the new peace initiative, argued that relinquishing Ukrainian land is not an option any responsible leader could accept, saying that Zelensky would never endorse it.

‘As long as Zelensky is president, no one should count on us giving up territory. He will not sign away territory… The constitution prohibits this. Nobody can do that unless they want to go against the Ukrainian constitution and the Ukrainian people,’ Yermak said.

Yermak, Zelensky’s top aide and close colleague, resigned from his post amid a corruption scandal Friday morning.

Citizens widely regarded the unelected official’s considerable influence over Ukraine’s highest offices as inappropriate.

Ukrainian authorities investigating corruption say they have exposed a network funneling hefty bribes from the country’s defense and energy industries – sectors under intense public scrutiny amid the ongoing war and widespread blackouts that leave cities dark for hours each day.

There’s still no confirmation from Zelensky on whether he will attend, or if anyone will replace Yermak, although he did mention he will hold ‘consultations’ with people who may lead the institution.  

So far, Washington and European capitals have rejected Moscow’s claim to Crimea, the region Putin annexed in violation of international law in 2014.

Despite international pressure, diplomatic sources tell the Daily Mail that the Kremlin’s relentless drive to solidify control over the contested regions underscores that Putin has shown no willingness to compromise.

A leaked call, first reported by Bloomberg, revealed how Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, maneuvered to expedite Putin’s access to Trump before a critical White House meeting with Zelensky.

The transcript shows Witkoff racing to connect Putin with Trump ahead of the October 19 Oval Office talks. Witkoff also coached Ushakov on how Putin should approach Trump – suggesting the Russian leader praise him for the Gaza peace deal, which he later did.

Two days before meeting Zelensky, Trump spoke with Putin. On that call, Putin warned that sending Tomahawks would harm US–Russia relations. Trump reversed course on the missiles.

Bloomberg reported that the talks helped shape an initial 28–point peace proposal heavily favoring Russian interests, later reduced to 19 points.