“Ukraine admits that sooner or later it will inevitably lose Donbas,” Vance said

Ukrainian negotiators acknowledge that the loss of all of Donbas is inevitable, but the territorial issue remains the main obstacle in the talks.

This was stated by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance in an interview with UnHerd.

“I think the Russians really want territorial control over Donbas. The Ukrainians, quite understandably, see this as a serious security threat, even though in private conversations they acknowledge that, in the end, Donetsk will probably be lost—but not now, rather over time; it could happen in 12 months, or later. So this territorial issue—this, I would say, terrible territorial concession—remains a serious brake on the negotiations,” Vance said.

According to him, a breakthrough in the talks is that “all the issues have finally come to the surface,” and over the past two weeks of negotiations Russians and Ukrainians have clearly stated “what is absolutely unacceptable and what is quite negotiable.”

However, Vance also allowed for the possibility that the talks could fail.

“As of today, I can’t say with certainty that we will reach a peace settlement. There is a good chance that we will, and a good chance that we won’t,” the vice president said.

At the same time, he added that it is impossible to name any one side as the main obstacle to peace. He did, however, mention frequent leaks to the press.

“I truly believe that at least over the last few months all participants have been negotiating in good faith. Obviously, some of this ends up in the press because the sides are trying to strengthen their positions in the information space. I just see it as part of the game and don’t blame anyone for selective leaks or statements like ‘this is too pro-Russian’ or ‘this is too pro-Ukrainian.’ For me, it’s a natural part of the negotiating process,” Vance said.

Besides the territorial issue, he said there are still unresolved questions such as: who will control the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and is joint control possible? What will happen to ethnic Russians who remain in Ukraine? What will happen to ethnic Ukrainians who remain in Russia? What should be done about Ukrainians who are now in territories occupied by Russia but want to live in Ukraine?

Many Russians ask similar questions, the U.S. vice president noted. He also said Ukrainians are focused on the country’s reconstruction, whereas “the Russians pay much less attention to it.”