Putin Hardens Ukraine Peace Terms After US-Russia Thaw
Russian President Vladimir Putin leveraged improved US-Russia relations to harden peace terms on Ukraine, using a St. Petersburg meeting with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff to showcase cooperation while rejecting Kyiv's proposals. Witkoff thanked Putin for a diesel sales agreement and praised the release of American Stephen Hubbard, but Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Kyiv's offers contained "nothing very profitable." Russia favors a November summit with Putin, Trump, and Xi Jinping, though Washington and Beijing haven't confirmed it. Moscow accepted resuming trilateral talks with Ukraine and the US around November 10, but Putin now demands territory in Sumi, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, not just Donetsk. Zelensky proposed freezing front lines, which Russia rejects without full Donbas surrender.