LATEST NEWS:

Trump adviser reveals which territory Ukraine will have to hand over to Russia

Trump adviser reveals which territory Ukraine will have to hand over to Russia

Mike Waltz suggests that Ukraine could be forced to hand over Donbass as part of a peace deal with Russia.

Mike Waltz, national security adviser to US President Donald Trump and one of the participants in the ceasefire negotiations in Ukraine, suggested in an interview with Fox News that Ukraine could be forced to hand over the Donbas region to the Russians as part of a peace deal.

Responding to a question from reporters, Waltz said that "if I were to imagine how this deal would play out, I think it would be a deal related to rare earth minerals, as a component that would maintain American engagement and presence in Ukraine. Maybe there could be European forces in Ukraine as well."


He added that "I think there will be nothing for Ukraine's membership in NATO, and I would also say that some parts – perhaps especially Donbass or areas with a large Russian population – could go to Putin in any negotiated agreement. Am I wrong?"

Waltz responded that "you're not wrong in any way. And what's important is that we're discussing all of these things with both sides. We're having these conversations with our Russian colleagues. We're having these conversations with our Ukrainian colleagues and we're pushing both sides towards an agreement, along with President Trump, the lead negotiator, who is determined to end this war."

Russia has so far demanded several conditions for a ceasefire, including Ukraine's membership in NATO, the cessation of military aid to Ukraine, and recognition of the four annexed regions. Crimea and part of Donbas are regions that Russia has held under its control since 2014 after the rebellion of Russian separatists, and after the start of the aggression in 2022, they added almost all of Donbas and parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

According to Waltz's statements, it is possible that Crimea and Donbas, as "parts with a majority Russian population", may have to be surrendered to Kiev, while the other two regions will be the subject of negotiations. Donbass or the Donets Basin is a region that includes the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. Before the war, over 55 percent of Ukrainians and about 40 percent Russians lived in this region. Over 70 percent of the people spoke Russian. /Telegraph/