Russia demands all of Donbas: Rubio sees no prospect of ending the war through negotiations

Negotiation efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine are currently yielding no results because the parties’ positions on Donbas are incompatible. In an interview, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the situation as a strategic deadlock.

According to him, Russia insists on full control over Donbas, while Ukraine considers this demand unacceptable. Despite the lack of a diplomatic breakthrough, the US remains ready to help broker a settlement:

“At this point, there’s no prospect of a negotiated settlement. We’re willing to play any role we can to achieve that,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The secretary of state cited recent attacks on vessels in the Black Sea among the causes for concern. He believes similar actions could spread to other countries as well.

Another risk is associated with winter: according to Rubio, Russia may try to use it to strike Ukraine’s energy system and increase pressure on Ukraine. At the same time, Ukraine is expanding its ability to carry out long-range strikes on Russian territory.

“We share concerns about the possibility of the conflict escalating in a way that could affect other countries and perhaps grow into a wider conflict,” Marco Rubio concluded.

The assessment came after diplomatic contacts in September. On September 5, US presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and on September 6, they held talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

After the meeting in Moscow, Witkoff spoke of the US desire to return negotiations to a trilateral format involving Ukraine, the US, and Russia. He suggested that such a meeting could be announced soon.

“new ideas that hadn’t worked before”—that was how Steve Witkoff described the proposals he heard during his conversation with Vladimir Putin.

These proposals were later presented to the Ukrainian side in Kyiv. Russia also did not rule out the possibility of returning to trilateral talks.

Against this backdrop, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a meeting could take place as early as this fall, or even in September if the parties reached an agreement. He has also repeatedly called for European partners to take part in negotiations on ending the war and ensuring the future security of Ukraine and Europe.

However, on September 23, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow saw no preconditions at that point for moving to peace talks on ending the war against Ukraine.

We previously reported:

• US discusses new Ukraine-Russia talks: meeting could be announced soon
• Return to trilateral talks and a winter package discussed in Kyiv
• Trump envoys’ visit to Kyiv and Moscow in doubt amid safety concerns
• “We won’t leave Donbas”: Zelenskyy sets a red line and says he is ready for an “all-for-all” exchange
• I want Donbas, Crimea, and to be left alone: Putin outlines his “peace plan”