U.S. envoys propose redrawing Ukrainian oblast lines so Putin can claim Donbas win — The Economist

According to the publication, the concept relies on a cartographic sleight of hand: redrawing Ukraine's regional boundaries on official maps. This administrative remodeling will permit Moscow to formally declare "complete control" over the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts it claims, while sparing Ukraine from having to physically surrender key fortified cities now held and defended by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

To entice Russian dictator Vladimir Putin into signing onto a deal, American envoys also floated the restoration of Russian fossil fuel access to European energy markets. However, such a concession directly conflicts with recently enacted European Union energy security legislation designed to enforce a permanent embargo on Russian hydrocarbons.

Both Ukraine and its core European partners have come out forcefully against the proposal.

"We will never agree to this while the war is ongoing," a senior Ukrainian official told the publication.

Security guarantees remain the most intractable hurdle in the negotiations.

U.S. negotiators contend that Putin might accept bilateral American commitments modeled on NATO's Article 4 or Article 5. Article 4 mandates urgent allied consultations in the event of an imminent security threat, while Article 5 binds signatory states to collective defense in the event of an armed attack. However, Ukrainian officials express profound skepticism that U.S. President Donald Trump would actually uphold or enforce any such defense pact, The Economist reported.

For its part, Moscow shows zero indication of accepting the deployment of multinational peacekeeping or security forces inside Ukraine. Nor has the Kremlin relented on its maximalist ultimatums demanding that Kyiv declare constitutional neutrality and drastically slash the peacetime size of the Ukrainian armed forces.

Ukrainian and European officials increasingly fear that Washington's insistence on folding broader European security architecture into the negotiations will hand Moscow fresh diplomatic leverage to stall and derail an immediate ceasefire.

Abu Dhabi Talks

The disclosures coincide with the opening of high-stakes negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian delegations mediated by the United States in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10 — marking the first direct encounter in this trilateral setting since February 2026.

Prior to sitting down with Russian envoys, the Ukrainian delegation conducted comprehensive coordination talks with senior diplomats from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, NATO, and the European Commission, joined by U.S. special presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

The Ukrainian delegation, headed by Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS) Chief Rustem Umerov, includes Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov, Servant of the People parliamentary party leader Davyd Arakhamia, First Deputy Head of the Office of the President Serhii Kyslytsya, and Military Intelligence (HUR) Deputy Chief Vadym Skibitskyi.

Umerov emphasized upon arrival that Kyiv's non-negotiable priorities remain an immediate cessation of hostilities, credible post-war security guarantees, robust economic recovery frameworks, and decisive humanitarian solutions, including comprehensive prisoner releases.