"Zelensky, that's brainwashing"

“Russia wants peace in Ukraine, not a temporary ceasefire,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Channel One, responding to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s suggestion that Ukrainians should express their views on ceding Donbas “through elections or a referendum”.

“A ceasefire is a pause, another deception, another delay, another instance of brainwashing. What we need is peace—guaranteed, long-term, and clear to everyone,” said the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kommersant Photo Agency / ddp USA / Profimedia

Commenting on Zelensky’s statements about a possible referendum, Peskov noted that if the goal is to “create a pretext to demand a ceasefire, a breather, a pause on the front line,” then “that will not work.”

“We want to work toward peace, not toward a ceasefire,” he insisted.

According to the Financial Times, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump—particularly his special envoy, Steve Witkoff—has in recent weeks been pressuring Ukraine to agree to a “territorial exchange,” which Washington sees as an inevitable part of any peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow. According to two sources, Witkoff, who has met Russian President Vladimir Putin six times this year, is “obsessed” with the idea that Ukraine ceding the remaining 25% of Donbas territory would enable a just peace and prevent prolonged fighting. Trump believes Ukraine has no leverage and will lose far more on the battlefield next year if it refuses reasonable territorial concessions now.

The U.S. is promoting a demilitarized zone similar to the one separating North and South Korea, the Financial Times reported. The Washington Post has also covered this scenario.

Zelensky noted that the American “compromise vision” involves the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas and the creation of a demilitarized zone, but the question of who would administer this territory remains unresolved; Washington is “looking for some kind of format.”