Russia will not return the seized territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions to Ukraine in exchange for Donbas – WP

Moscow will not return the territories of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions captured by Russia to Ukraine in exchange for the Donbas, as they secure the land corridor to Crimea.

This was reported by The Washington Post, citing a source familiar with the course of the negotiations.

“The Kremlin is not prepared to give up territory in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where Russian military gains have provided Moscow with a valuable land bridge to occupied Crimea,” the article says.

The source also stated that “Russia has offered Kyiv to relinquish all of Donbas — which includes the Luhansk and Donetsk regions — in exchange for a ceasefire, but without offering anything in return.”

Other Western media outlets have also written that during Russia–U.S. negotiations, the discussion has included the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from all of Donetsk region, but there has been no mention of Russian forces withdrawing from Kherson or Zaporizhzhia.

At the same time, it should be noted that U.S. officials, including U.S. President Donald Trump, have spoken about preparing a “territory swap” deal. This would mean that the Russians would also withdraw troops from somewhere — although this has not been commented on in Russia, and several Western outlets have expressed skepticism about such a scenario.