Ukraine is set to surrender 20% of its land to Russia as part of a peace agreement along an 800-mile border. The deal, brokered by Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, has left European governments shocked and concerned.
The agreement secures Ukraine’s borders without American involvement, putting neither NATO nor the US in a defensive position against potential Russian attacks. This raises concerns about the risks of such a settlement.
However, Pavlo Klimkin, former Ukrainian foreign minister, notes that there are opportunities as well. “This has even more risks than Minsk,” he says, referring to the 2014-2015 agreement that ended Russia’s first invasion.
Klimkin believes that Trump’s meeting with Putin is part of a broader strategy to decouple Russia from China and engage in strategic stability discussions. This may lead to multi-layer trade-offs, increasing the risks of the deal.
The proposed peace looks like a return to 2014 borders, but with some caveats. Ukraine would retain its current borders, while Russia wouldn’t have to give up any captured territories. The new line of contact would stretch from the Dnipro river in the Black Sea to the Ukrainian-Russian border at Kharkiv.
While the deal may not be ideal for Ukraine, it could prevent further bloodshed and stabilize the region. As Klimkin says, “There are both risks and opportunities” in this agreement, which will have far-reaching implications for regional politics and security.
Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/15/this-is-how-ukraine-war-ends-trump-plan-for-what-next