{"id":623625,"date":"2026-10-08T14:23:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T11:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/korabelov.info\/2026\/10\/623625\/russia-demands-all-of-donbas-rubio-sees-no-prospect-of-ending-the-war-through-negotiations\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T15:55:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T12:55:51","slug":"russia-demands-all-of-donbas-rubio-sees-no-prospect-of-ending-the-war-through-negotiations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/korabelov.info\/en\/2026\/10\/623625\/russia-demands-all-of-donbas-rubio-sees-no-prospect-of-ending-the-war-through-negotiations\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia demands all of Donbas: Rubio sees no prospect of ending the war through negotiations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Negotiation efforts to end Russia<\/strong>\u2019s war against Ukraine<\/strong> are currently yielding no results because the parties\u2019 positions on Donbas<\/strong> are incompatible. In an interview, US<\/strong> Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/strong> described the situation as a strategic deadlock.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cAt this point, there\u2019s no prospect of a negotiated settlement. We\u2019re willing to play any role we can to achieve that,\u201d said US<\/strong> Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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

Another<\/strong> risk is associated with winter: according to Rubio<\/strong>, Russia<\/strong> may try to use it to strike Ukraine\u2019s energy system and increase pressure on Ukraine<\/strong>. At the same time, Ukraine is expanding its ability to carry out long-range strikes on Russian<\/strong> territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe share concerns about the possibility of the conflict escalating in a way that could affect other countries and perhaps grow into a wider conflict,\u201d Marco Rubio<\/strong> concluded.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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

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

\u201cnew ideas that hadn\u2019t worked before\u201d\u2014that was how Steve Witkoff<\/strong> described the proposals he heard during his conversation with Vladimir Putin<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These proposals were later presented to the Ukrainian side in Kyiv<\/strong>. Russia<\/strong> also did not rule out the possibility of returning to trilateral talks.<\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/strong> said that a meeting could take place as early as this fall, or even in September<\/strong> 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<\/strong> and Europe<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

We previously reported:<\/strong><\/p>\n