Bloomberg: The US will demand Putin abandon plans to demilitarize Ukraine, return the Zaporizhzhia NPP and some occupied territories

The US will demand that Russia recognize Ukraineʼs right to have its own army and defense industry as part of a peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv.

Bloomberg writes about this, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The agencyʼs sources say that the US will demand that Russia recognize Ukraineʼs right to an equipped army and its own defense industry.

The US also wants Russia to return the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) to Ukraine. The facility would then come under US control to manage energy for both sides. However, the details of the plans are not yet finalized and could change.

Volodymyr Zelensky noted that the Zaporizhzhia NPP will not operate without Ukraine. According to him, Ukrainian technical staff is needed. He emphasized that "the United States, with all due respect, will not be enough". There is also the issue of the safety of people living in Enerhodar. At the same time, Ukraine is ready to cooperate with the United States in restoring the Zaporizhzhia NPP if Russia withdraws from there, the president said.

In addition, the US also wants to provide Ukraine with passage across the Dnipro River and return the territories of the Kharkiv region, which are under Russian control. The Russian Federation has stated that it wants to fully control the Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Kherson regions — despite the fact that the Russian army partially, but not completely, occupied the regions.

These are all signs that the Trump administration is seeking some concessions from the Kremlin, Bloomberg writes. Trumpʼs special representative Steve Witkoff will raise these issues with Putin during their next meeting, according to the publication.

Spokespeople for the US National Security Council, the State Department and Witkoff did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ceasefire negotiations

Washington is negotiating with Russia and Ukraine to end the war, but a true ceasefire is still in sight. Kyiv has already agreed to halt hostilities in the Black Sea and not attack Russian energy facilities during a 30-day truce. Moscow, in return, has only promised not to attack energy facilities and said it would implement agreements on the Black Sea only after Western sanctions are lifted.

The New York Post reported on April 19 that the US wants to agree on the terms of a full and comprehensive ceasefire in London next week, followed by talks with Moscow. According to the publication, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told US officials that Kyiv “90% supports” President Trump’s peace plan, which US officials presented to him during meetings in Paris.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense later denied that Kyiv had "90% agreed" with the US peace plan.

According to Bloomberg, the American side in Paris presented to the allies a proposal for a settlement in Ukraine, which includes conditions for the cessation of hostilities and the easing of sanctions against Russia. This proposal will effectively freeze the war, and the Ukrainian territories currently occupied by Russia will remain under Moscowʼs control, the publicationʼs sources say. Various foreign media outlets have written that the US will propose recognizing Crimea as Russian.

It was expected that Washington would propose recognizing illegally annexed Crimea as part of the Russian Federation and freezing the front line as part of a peace agreement as early as April 23, as reported by The Washington Post.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to these media reports about the alleged American plan on April 22. According to him, Ukraine had not received any official proposals to give up the territories. He stressed that Kyiv does not legally recognize Russiaʼs annexation of Crimea, because it is outside the Ukrainian Constitution. Before that, on April 17, he said that Ukraine was discussing a ceasefire with the United States, but without the issue of territories. Zelensky constantly notes that Ukraine will not recognize any of its occupied territories as Russian — these are red lines.

Trump criticized Zelensky for his statement that Ukraine does not legally recognize Crimea as Russian. The American president is convinced that this statement is "very damaging to peace negotiations with Russia" and that Crimea "was lost during the presidency of Barack Obama".

• Marco Rubio said after meeting with allies in Paris that the United States could end its mediation efforts in Ukraine in a matter of days if it does not see clear signs of a peace deal. Trump confirmed his words the same day.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.