Trump prepares 'land division contract' between Russia and Ukraine

US President Donald Trump expects Russia and Ukraine to cease fire thanks to the territorial division agreement, while Europe continues to support Kyiv and put pressure on Moscow.

The Hill newspaper on March 22 quoted US President Donald Trump as saying that "contracts" to divide land between Russia and Ukraine were being negotiated and reiterated that a ceasefire would soon be in order. "They are fighting each other. I think we are going to have a ceasefire agreement in many areas and so far, everything has gone very well," the leader told reporters at the White House.

5 key areas

The new revelation about the negotiations came ahead of separate talks with Russia and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia on March 24. The US and Ukraine met in Jeddah last week, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later confirming that the two sides had discussed territorial concessions. President Zelensky has ruled out recognizing Russia's annexation during the talks, calling it a red line for Ukraine.

Trump says Ukraine-Russia are negotiating territory division, ceasefire imminent

Russia controls nearly 20% of Ukraine. In 2022, Russia unilaterally annexed four Ukrainian regions, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, although it did not fully control them. Ukraine did not recognize the annexation, nor did it recognize the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

Ukrainska Pravda on March 22 quoted US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff as saying that Crimea and the four provinces are the key issue and the biggest obstacle to resolving the conflict. However, he said that no one wants to talk about it. "There are constitutional issues in Ukraine about what they can give up regarding territory. The Russians are actually controlling these territories. The question is, will the world recognize that this is Russian territory? Will it end? Can Mr. Zelensky get over it politically if he recognizes this? This is the central issue in the conflict," according to Mr. Witkoff.

A damaged coal mine area in the town of Toretsk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

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European efforts

Regarding aid to Ukraine, the German Parliamentary Budget Committee on March 21 approved a proposal to provide an additional 3 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine, including 2.547 billion euros that the German Finance Ministry plans to allocate to Ukraine this year, along with other amounts. In addition, the ministry plans to approve commitments worth 8.252 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine in the period 2026 - 2029, bringing the total to more than 11 billion euros. "The situation in Ukraine has become increasingly difficult in the past few months," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, adding that Germany is now setting a new pace for European support for Ukraine.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha thanked Germany and said the new aid would help strengthen Ukraine's defense and other capabilities. "German weapons have saved thousands of Ukrainian lives. They will save many more this year and in the years to come. A strong Ukrainian army will be the most important security factor in Ukraine and Europe for many years to come," he wrote on the social network X.

Huge gas station fire, Russia, Ukraine accuse each other

On the British side, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said on March 21 that the country will chair a three-day meeting next week to prepare for high-level plans to lobby for a "coalition of the wills" if a ceasefire is achieved in Ukraine. Earlier on March 2, Mr. Starmer said many European countries were developing this coalition with "planes in the air and boots on the ground" in an effort to ensure a successful ceasefire in Ukraine.

In another development, the British government said on March 21 that it had frozen more than £25 billion of Russian assets and sanctioned 2,001 individuals and organizations since the conflict in Ukraine broke out. Reuters quoted British Finance Minister Emma Reynolds as saying that the country would continue to impose financial sanctions against Russia.

Russia reveals surprise attack on Ukraine in Kursk

TASS news agency on March 21 quoted the commander of the battalion codenamed Morpekh of the Russian Independent Airborne Veterans Brigade as saying that the surprise attack operation called "Stream" in the town of Sudzha in Kursk province had been prepared by Russia for 3 months. Ukraine sent troops to Kursk in early August 2024 and Russia announced that it had recaptured Sudzha after a recent rearguard operation. During the operation, Russian soldiers moved about 15 km inside an abandoned gas pipeline and suddenly appeared behind the defense system of the Ukrainian army near Sudzha. On March 12, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian army, First Deputy Defense Minister Valery Gerasimov said that more than 600 soldiers from many units participated in the operation.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ong-trump-chuan-bi-hop-dong-chia-dat-giua-nga-va-ukraine-18525032222122434.htm