The Telegraph: Secret Trump-backed deal proposes renting Donbas to Moscow

Ukraine could be compelled to lease part of its territory to Russia under a U.S.-brokered proposal to end the war, according to correspondents for The Telegraph.

Under the plan attributed to the Trump administration, Kyiv would relinquish control—but not legal ownership—of the eastern Donbas region. Russia would obtain de facto authority over the territory in exchange for an undisclosed rental payment, officials familiar with the negotiations told the newspaper.

The 28-point proposal was reportedly developed during a recent round of secret U.S.–Russia talks, fueling renewed concerns that Ukraine is being sidelined in decisions about its own future.

Beyond territorial concessions, the plan would dramatically reduce Ukraine’s military capacity, cutting its armed forces by half and banning long-range missiles. It would also prohibit foreign troop deployments in Ukraine, end U.S. military assistance, and bar foreign diplomatic aircraft from landing in the country. Additionally, the Russian language would be granted official state status, and the Russian Orthodox Church would receive formal recognition in the occupied areas.

Ukraine would, however, be allowed to negotiate security guarantees from the United States and European governments to uphold any potential ceasefire.

Ukrainian officials dismissed the plan, and Russia denied involvement. Donald Trump declined to comment directly, though on Wednesday he said he had recently told Vladimir Putin: “Let me settle your freaking war.”

Sources cited in the report claim the White House has pressured President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept the terms, believing his political position has weakened due to a corruption scandal surrounding him. Zelenskyy, however, has repeatedly rejected surrendering all of Donbas as a condition for peace. Territorial concessions have long been a demand of Putin, including during his meeting with Trump in Alaska in August for earlier peace discussions.

Following objections from Kyiv and other Western capitals, the U.S. president had initially dismissed the idea, arguing that any ceasefire should be based on the existing front line.

The reported land-lease proposal aligns with past examples in which financial arrangements were used to support peace agreements. Donbas, a mineral-rich region, could generate substantial revenue for Ukraine through a ground fee paid by Moscow in exchange for access to the territory.

Ukraine’s constitution requires any territorial cession to be approved in a nationwide referendum—one that would likely fail—making a leasing arrangement a workaround to avoid that requirement.

Earlier U.S. media reports also described a 28-point proposal by Trump involving the transfer of Donbas to Russia and major restrictions on Ukraine. According to those reports, a planned meeting in Türkiye to discuss the proposal collapsed after Zelenskyy presented an alternative plan that Moscow refused to consider.

By Tamilla Hasanova