Trump wants to ‘freeze’ Russia-Ukraine war: Who gets what if that happens?

United States President Donald Trump has suggested freezing the war successful Ukraine astatine its existent beforehand lines and utilizing these lines arsenic a starting constituent for aboriginal negotiations implicit territory.

Peace talks aimed astatine ending the warfare successful Ukraine person truthful acold stalled contempt Trump boasting during his statesmanlike run past twelvemonth that helium could extremity the warfare successful “24 hours” aft his inauguration.

Russia insists that it indispensable beryllium allowed to support each the onshore it has seized from Ukraine and beryllium granted much if it is to see a ceasefire. Ukraine has balked astatine this, and Trump has failed to determination either side.

Here is what the existent beforehand lines look similar and however Russia and Ukraine person reacted to this latest proposal:

What has Trump proposed?

Trump has projected halting the warfare wherever the warring is present occurring.

“They tin negociate thing aboriginal connected down the line. But I said chopped and halt astatine the conflict line,” Trump told reporters connected Air Force One connected Sunday.

“The remainder is precise pugnacious to negociate if you’re going to say, ‘You instrumentality this. We instrumentality that.'”

When Trump was asked if helium had advised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cede the full of the eastbound portion of Donbas, which borders Russia and which it has laid assertion to, helium said no.

“Let it beryllium chopped the mode it is. It’s chopped up close now. I deliberation 78 percent of the onshore is already taken by Russia,” Trump told a newsman from the Reuters quality agency.

“You permission it the mode it is close now. They tin … negociate thing aboriginal connected down the line.”

Where are the beforehand lines close now?

Over the people of its astir four-year warfare successful Ukraine, Russia has seized territory chiefly successful 4 eastbound and confederate Ukrainian provinces: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia. It besides controls a tiny pouch of Kharkiv province.

Donetsk and Luhansk are collectively called the Donbas, which has seen the astir fighting.

Russia controls each of Luhansk and astir of Donetsk, including the areas astir the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

Russia besides controls astir 75 percent of Kherson and Zaporizhia.

Zaporizhia is simply a important concern portion known for its steel, aluminium and craft manufacturing and is besides location to Europe’s largest atomic powerfulness plant.

How person Ukraine and its European allies responded to this proposal?

Ukraine and Europe person backed Trump’s program to frost the conflict lines.

On Tuesday, European leaders and Zelenskyy signed a connection saying they “strongly” enactment Trump’s proposal.

“The existent enactment of interaction should beryllium the starting constituent of negotiations,” the connection said.

Previously, Ukraine has insisted connected reclaiming each of its land. But Trump has flip-flopped implicit whether Ukraine should oregon should not beryllium required to cede onshore to Russia successful immoderate bid deal.

In August earlier a gathering with Russian President Vladimir Putin successful Alaska to sermon the war, Trump stated that some Russia and Ukraine would person to cede territory to extremity the war.

“There’ll beryllium immoderate onshore swapping going on,” Trump told reporters astatine the time.

Then successful September, Trump appeared to marque a U-turn, saying Ukraine could triumph the warfare militarily and recapture the territories occupied by Russia, including the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized successful 2014, and different areas successful eastbound Ukraine. “Ukraine would beryllium capable to instrumentality backmost their Country successful its archetypal signifier and, who knows, possibly adjacent spell further than that!” Trump wrote successful a societal media post.

How has Russia responded?

Russia has rejected the plan.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia is committed to “a long-term, sustainable bid – not an contiguous ceasefire that would pb nowhere”.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov added that “the consistency of Russia’s presumption doesn’t change,” referring to its hardline demands to extremity its war, including a implicit withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the eastbound regions that Moscow has laid assertion to.

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Russia had sent a backstage communique to the US implicit the weekend, demanding power of each of the Donbas – not conscionable the parts it has already seized.

A planned gathering betwixt Trump and Putin successful Budapest, Hungary, successful the adjacent 2 weeks was shelved this week arsenic Trump said helium did not privation a “wasted meeting” with Putin.

“It didn’t consciousness similar we were going to get to the spot we person to get, truthful I cancelled it. But we’ll bash it successful the future,” Trump told reporters successful the White House connected Wednesday.