With Russia’s terms to Ukraine, Putin seeks surrender — not a peace deal

With Russia’s terms to Ukraine, Putin seeks surrender — not a peace deal

With the terms that Russia presented this week, Vladimir Putin made it clear that he seeks Ukraine’s surrender — not a peace deal. If Putin’s terms are implemented, the Ukrainian nation would cease to exist and no Ukrainian leader, and certainly not Volodymyr Zelenskyy, could accept that.

In this pool photograph distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on April 26, 2025. AP Photo