Since Feb 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the two have been locked in a continuous conflict. Despite constant bids for peace, the war has continued, leaving it the deadliest war in Europe since World War II.
The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated, “Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians.” However, despite the goal of peace, negotiations between Ukraine and Russia have reached an impasse. As part of a potential peace deal, Ukraine demands that all territory seized by Russia be returned, including the region of Crimea, which Russia invaded and claimed in 2014. Also they require that all Russian troops are withdrawn. Additionally, Ukraine would like to join NATO, which Russia has been staunchly against. Furthermore, Ukraine also requires the return of prisoners of war, and children which have been taken by Russia. According to Yale, as of March 2025, Russia has kidnapped over 19,000 Ukrainian children, and is attempting to “re-educate” them out of their Ukrainian identities. Ukraine also requests that Russian leaders are tried and persecuted for war crimes, and that security measures are put in place to ensure that Russia does not break the future peace treaty. As of 2022, a UN commission declared that Russia has committed various war crimes in Ukraine, which Russia has refused to acknowledge, becoming a point of contention between the two nations.
However, Russia on the other hand demands that all land occupied by the Russian military is ceded by Ukraine and recognized as Russian, including all territory that Russia claims, but is not yet fully occupied. Additionally, they require a guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO, and would like to limit Ukraine’s military. Furthermore, Russia also demands the lifting of sanctions that were placed on Russia due to the war. Considering that many of the demands of the two powers are in direct opposition the two have been unable to strike a peace deal.
Additionally, the Russian president Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly refused to meet with Zelenskyy, prolonging the war, and limiting the likelihood of successful peace negotiations.
Recently, US president Donald Trump met with Putin in Alaska to continue to discuss a potential ceasefire and peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Prior to the meeting, Trump stated that the main goal of the conference was to get Russia to agree to a ceasefire, and that he was willing to level economic sanctions against Russia if they did not agree. Despite this statement, after the summit, Trump stated, “it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which oftentimes does not hold up.” However, considering the extensive destruction and high death toll, Zelenskyy has determined that a ceasefire is necessary before a peace deal can be struck, once again leaving the leaders in opposition. Regarding this outcome, Ukraine stated, “We see that Russia rebuffs numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing. This complicates the situation.”
Following his meeting with Putin, Trump had a phone call with Zelenskyy, in which the Ukrainian president reiterated the necessity of a ceasefire and his desire for negotiations for peace. After this meeting, Zelenskyy once again stated that Ukraine would not cede its territory to Russia, suggesting the two nations were still at an impasse in negotiations.
Trump met with Zelenskyy and other European powers on Aug 18. The two appeared to agree on more points regarding peace, than during their less cordial meeting in February. Trump agreed to support Ukraine with security guarantees against Russia as part of a peace negotiation, but, as of now, it is unclear what that would look like. They also agreed that it was time for a summit between Ukraine, the US, and Russia; however, Russia still appears to be reluctant to meet with Ukraine.
Despite these meetings, it appears that there has been limited progress in peace negotiations and a ceasefire, due to the many stances in which Russia and Ukraine are in opposition, and Russia’s reluctance to meet with Ukraine.
