The U.S. is ready to recognize Russia’s control over part of Ukraine for the sake of “peace” — what this means for Kyiv

Donald Trump’s special envoys, Stephen Witkoff and Jared Kushner, intend to convey to Vladimir Putin that the White House is ready to recognize Russian control over Crimea and other territories seized from Ukraine as part of a peace agreement. At the same time, Ukraine itself would not be required to formally recognize this.

This is reported by The Telegraph.

Such a step breaks with the previous U.S. diplomatic line and is causing concern among Kyiv’s European allies. However, according to sources, the idea of recognizing the territories remains part of the American strategy even after the Geneva agreements with Ukraine.

In practice, this would mean Washington’s readiness to meet one of Moscow’s key demands: obtaining international recognition of its annexations. If the U.S. takes this step, it could encourage other Russia-friendly countries to follow suit and effectively legitimize the land grab in the global economy — opening the way for trade, investment, and for ships to enter ports in the occupied regions. At the same time, the question would arise of revising some of the anti-Russian sanctions imposed after 2014.

Under such a scenario, any attempt by Ukraine to retake these territories by force could be interpreted by countries that recognize the annexation as “aggression against Russia,” which would radically change the framework of the conflict.

At the same time, this is only one element of a possible peace agreement: questions such as the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donetsk region and other Russian demands, which Kyiv categorically rejects, remain unresolved. Planned contacts between Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak and NSDC Secretary Rustem Umerov with U.S. representatives in Florida have been called into question amid the searches at Yermak’s premises, further weakening Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s negotiating position.