Europe may offer Putin ’freeze’ on war or exchange of Donbas for Ukraine’s accession to NATO, - FT
If European leaders hold talks with Russian dictator Putin, they are likely to offer him one of two paths to peace: to freeze the war along the current line of contact in exchange for guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO, or to take the remainder of the Donbas on condition that Kyiv becomes a member of the Alliance.
This is according to an analysis by the Financial Times, as reported by Censor.NET.
Two possible proposals
According to the publication’s assessment, when Europe enters into negotiations with Putin, the Russian dictator will be presented with two options:
- a freeze on the conflict along the current line of control, in exchange for a guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO;
- Ukraine handing over the remainder of the Donbas to Russia, but on condition that Ukraine joins NATO.
The FT notes that some Ukrainians would view either of these options as a betrayal. However, given the strong desire for peace in the country, Zelenskyy, in the publication’s view, may be able to ‘sell’ both ideas.
Why Europe is changing its approach
Europeans are far less confident that Putin is prepared to accept even one of them, yet they consider it important to begin direct talks with the Russians.
According to the FT, there is a growing consensus in European capitals that the continent can no longer tolerate a situation where only the Americans are talking to Putin. Channels of communication with the Russians are already open, and talks between European leaders and Putin could take place in the near future.
The publication links this shift in approach to the belief that ‘appeasing’ Trump is becoming increasingly ineffective, particularly due to his focus on the mid-term elections and his dissatisfaction that Europe, in his view, has not supported him on Iran.
Europeans also fear that US policy is driven primarily by a desire to strike business deals with Russia, rather than by a coherent security vision.
Europe’s current approach rests on two pillars — support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. Both are considered key, particularly against the backdrop of waning support from the US.
However, Europe’s direct involvement in the peace process is increasingly seen as a necessity, not least because, as the publication notes, Ukraine is being kept afloat by European funds following the cessation of US financial aid.
A three-way meeting
The article states that Putin himself is believed to be discussing the idea of a trilateral meeting with Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Such a meeting, the FT emphasises, would be in line with Russia’s claims to superpower status and would leave Ukraine and its most important partners out in the cold. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported on this.
Zelenskyy’s different tone
A separate section of the article is devoted to the crisis in US-Ukraine relations, which, according to the authors, is reminiscent of the darkest days of 2025.
This time, according to the publication, Zelenskyy is considerably less restrained in his remarks about Trump: he directly accused the US of restricting satellite services in Ukraine and suggested that Trump is drawn to autocrats. Ukraine has also ignored the US demand to cease strikes on Russian energy facilities; this weekend saw some of the largest strikes on oil facilities in St Petersburg.
The FT suggests that Zelenskyy’s harsher tone stems not only from anger but also from calculation: Trump is slipping in the polls, and the Republicans appear to be heading for defeat in the mid-term elections, so it may be useful to appeal to the American people over the president’s head.
Satellites
At the same time, as the FT notes, the Ukrainian authorities, led by President Zelenskyy, remain heavily reliant on US satellite capabilities – in particular Starshield and Starlink – both for defence against Russian attacks and for gathering the intelligence required for offensive operations.
Europe is seeking to reduce this dependence: Finnish companies Nokia and Iceye announced a partnership this month to develop satellite networks, but the first launches are not expected until 2028, so they will not solve Ukraine’s current problems, the publication adds.
