Russia Invades Ukraine XVIII

[some_al_fan]

In the source you just provided, Witkoff is quoted as saying, "there should be territorial concessions on both sides." If that mean freeze the front lines, then Ukraine will have made huge concessions already. I have not seen any reliable source stating that the Russians demand the unconquered portion of Donetsk Oblast, only journalists' conjectures.
Demanding Russia pull back from the tiny enclaves along the Ukrainian border near Sumy and Kharkiv it has seized would amount to concession, although the ratio of land swapped would be 99:1. That may well be why Russia seized those tiny enclaves in the first place.

The bottom line is nobody who was not in the room knows the specific Russian demands were and God only knows what the eventual deal will look like.

Here is another British source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...ys-west-virginia-to-send-national-guard-to-dc
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Two sources with direct knowledge of the talks in Alaska told the Guardian that Putin demanded Ukraine withdraw from Donbas, which is made up of the Donestk and Luhansk regions, as a condition for ending the war, but offered Trump a freeze along the remaining frontline.
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[TIDE-HSV]

I always thought that Putin would begin his demands far above what he hoped to achieve in the end. That's the normal bargaining process. You never start out with what you're willing to settle for eventually. The same is true on the other side. Zelensky knows he hasn't a prayer of dislodging the Russians from what they already hold, especially Crimea. Both have to walk away with what they can sell to their people as a partial success, which differs with each populace. If they don't, Zelensky will lose his office and Putin, well, he'll be lucky to escape with his hide. Netanyahu is in a similar situation. They're all knee deep in "wag the dog"...