OAN Staff Blake Wolf
2:08 PM – Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands for ending the Ukraine war include the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expansion and the lifting of sanctions against Russia, according to sources close to the Kremlin.
A recent Reuters report citing multiple Russian sources “with knowledge of the negotiations” claims that Putin is calling on Western leaders to pledge in writing that NATO will end the Eastern expansion, and a vow to lift sanctions against Russia.
“Putin is ready to make peace but not at any price,” stated an anonymous senior Russian source.
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Russia is also calling for Ukraine to be a neutral country, frozen Russian assets in the West to be resolved, and protection guarantees for Russian speakers in Ukraine, the Russian sources stated.
One of the Russian sources added that if Russia is unable to reach a peace agreement, Putin will intensify the military operations to demonstrate that “peace tomorrow will be even more painful.”
Another Russian source speaking with Reuters added that Putin believes Russia could continue the war for years despite Western economic sanctions, largely due to Ukraine’s depleted military force.
“Putin has toughened his position,” one of the Russian sources speaking with the outlet stated.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump stated on Tuesday that Putin is “playing with fire” by refusing to engage in peace talks with Ukrainian leaders.
“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,” Trump wrote.
Kyiv has claimed that Russia is deliberately stalling ceasefire talks in order to make military advances into eastern Ukraine.
Following a two hour conversation with President Donald Trump last week, Putin revealed that he is willing to negotiate a peace accord with Ukraine to establish a ceasefire date, and is currently drafting a memorandum without providing any timeline of completion.
Additionally, a top Putin aide shot back against Trump’s criticism of Russia’s war, arguing that President Trump is “not getting enough information.”
“There is a lot that Trump says, we read it all, track it, but in many ways we come to the conclusion that Trump is not getting enough information about what is really happening in the context of the Ukrainian-Russian confrontation,” stated Kremlin spokesperson Yuri Ushakov on Wednesday.
“In particular, he is not being informed enough about what massive terrorist attacks are being carried out by Ukraine against peaceful Russian cities,” he continued. “Trump only knows what countermeasures we are taking, and he does not fully understand that we are attacking military institutions or military industrial complexes.”
Trump stated on Wednesday that the United States is going to find out in “about two weeks” whether or not Putin is serious about ending the war.
“Within two weeks. We’re going to find out very soon,” he stated. “We’re going to find out whether or not he’s tapping us along or not. And if he is, we’ll respond a little bit differently. But it will take about a week and a half, two weeks.”
Trump also revealed that he is not currently planning on imposing additional sanctions against Russia because he believes that the two nations are “close to getting a deal.”
“I don’t want to screw it up by doing that,” Trump added. “This isn’t my war. This is Biden’s war, Zelenskyy’s war and Putin’s war. This isn’t Trump’s war. I’m only here for one thing – to see if I can end it.”
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