Ukraine war latest: Putin seeks full control of Donetsk Oblast as key to any deal with Ukraine, WP reports
Key developments on Oct. 18-19:
- Putin seeks full control of Donetsk Oblast as key to any deal with Ukraine, WP reports
- Ukraine peace deal should give no unoccupied lands to 'terrorist' Putin, Zelensky tells NBC
- European leaders push for Ukraine peace plan after disappointing Washington meetings
- Russia hits Kharkiv Oblast with new rocket-powered guided bomb for first time
Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that Ukraine hand over full control of Donetsk Oblast to Russia as a condition for ending the war during a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump this week, The Washington Post reported on Oct. 18, citing two senior U.S. officials.
According to the report, Putin indicated he was willing to give up parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, both partially occupied by Russian forces, in exchange for complete control over Donetsk.
Some White House officials described the proposal as "progress," while a senior European diplomat cautioned that Ukraine would likely view the proposal in a very different light.
"It's like selling them their own leg in exchange for nothing," the diplomat said.
Trump has not publicly addressed the Kremlin’s demand but, following his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, urged both sides to "stop the killing and make a deal."
This development marks a shift from Putin's earlier position in April, when he rejected a U.S. proposal to freeze hostilities along current front lines and instead insisted that any peace deal must grant Russia full control over Crimea plus the full four regions that are partially occupied now: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.
Putin and Trump are expected to continue discussions at a planned summit in Hungary, which is set to take place in the coming weeks.
Ukraine peace deal should give no unoccupied lands to 'terrorist' Putin, Zelensky tells NBC
Ukraine does not plan to surrender any unoccupied territories to Russia as part of peace agreement to end the full-scale war Zelensky told NBC's "Meet the Press" in an interview broadcast on Oct. 19.
The comments come shortly after Zelensky's latest White House meeting with Trump, who called on Russia and Ukraine to end the war immediately "at the battle line."
"I understand that we have to finish this war ... from the place where soldiers stay, from the contact line, as I understood correctly," Zelensky told NBC's Kristen Welker, on the same day as his meeting with Trump.
"If we want to stop this war and to go to peace negotiations, urgently and in a diplomatic way, we need to stay where we stay, not to give something additional to Putin because he wants —because's he's a terrorist."
In a Truth Social post published directly after his conversation with Zelensky, Trump wrote that Kyiv and Moscow should make a deal "with the property lines being defined by war and guts."
The Washington Post later reported, citing two senior U.S. officials, that Putin has demanded that Ukraine hand over full control of Donetsk Oblast to Russia as a condition for ending the war.
Zelensky also said any peace negotiations must take place during a ceasefire.
"Not under missiles, not under drones," he said.
Russia has dramatically intensified large-scale aerial attacks against Ukrainian cities in 2025. The uptick in mass strikes coincides with Trump's return to office, but Zelensky attributed the increase to Russia's expanded production capablitiles and assistance from allies such as North Korea, China, and Iran, rather than changes in the White House.
The escalating aerial campaigns are also a response to Russia's battlefield losses, Zelensky said.
"On the battlefield (Putin's) not winning, that's why he really escalates air strikes," Zelensky said, adding that the Kremlin hopes to cause an "energy disaster" in Ukraine by targeting critical infrastructure ahead of winter.
European leaders push for Ukraine peace plan after disappointing Washington meetings
Following high-level talks between Ukrainian and U.S. officials in Washington this week, European leaders are renewing calls for a peace plan to end Russia's invasion, after an apparent shift in U.S. support for Kyiv.
"Following his meeting with President (Donald) Trump, we have coordinated and will accompany the next steps. What Ukraine needs now is a peace plan," Merz wrote on X.
Merz also reportedly said that the meeting had not gone as Zelensky had hoped, according to German media outlet n-tv.
The statements come after an intense week of diplomacy culminating in a planned bilateral meeting between Trump and Putin, and the failure of a Ukrainian delegation to clinch U.S. approval to purchase Tomahawk cruise missiles.
The Ukrainian team had been hoping to capitalize on improved relations. President Trump has grown increasingly frustrated in recent months by Putin’s refusal to end the war against Ukraine.
The delivery of Tomahawks, which can strike targets between 1,600 and 2,500 kilometers (1,000–1,600 miles) away, would dramatically alter Ukraine's long-range strike capability.
Using domestically manufactured drones, Ukraine has conducted repeated long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries in a bid to put economic pressure on the Kremlin.
But before the closed-door meeting started, Trump told reporters that the U.S. needed to maintain its own supply of the missiles. He did, however, signal openness to a weapons deal with Kyiv that could involve U.S.-made missiles and Ukrainian drones.
Russia has repeatedly warned that the U.S. supply of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine would represent a new stage of escalation.
The meeting — the sixth since Trump's return to office — came one day after a phone call between Trump and Putin, during which the leaders agreed to meet in Budapest in the next two weeks.
Several European leaders held a conference call with Zelensky after the closed-door meeting, including NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
According to an Axios source who was on the call, Starmer suggested teaming up with the U.S. to shape a Ukraine peace plan inspired by Trump’s Gaza proposal.
NATO chief Mark Rutte then pushed for European security advisers to hold a rapid follow-up meeting over the weekend, Axios reported.
Russia hits Kharkiv Oblast with new rocket-powered guided bomb for first time
Russian forces carried out their first guided bomb strike on the city of Lozova in Kharkiv Oblast on Oct. 18, according to the regional prosecutor’s office.
The attack took place at around 5:40 p.m. local time, hitting a residential neighborhood and damaging homes and outbuildings. Authorities initially reported six injuries, and later clarified the number to five. All victims are receiving medical treatment.
Investigators said the weapon was launched from Russian-occupied territory.
Authorities identified the weapon as a new rocket-powered guided aerial bomb, the UMPB-5R, capable of flying about 130 kilometers. Prosecutors said Russia used this type of bomb against Lozova for the first time. They also launched a pretrial investigation into possible war crimes.
The strike comes just two days after Mykolaiv authorities reported that Russian forces had used guided aerial bombs against their city for the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion. On Oct. 16, two bombs hit the outskirts of Mykolaiv, regional governor Vitalii Kim said.
Kharkiv Oblast and its capital have faced relentless Russian attacks for more than two years, since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. In recent months, strikes on the city’s densely populated areas have intensified.
On Oct. 13, Russia attacked Kharkiv with KAB guided bombs, damaging a hospital and injuring at least six people. At the time of the attack, more than 100 patients were in the hospital, Oleksiy Dotsenko, director of the facility's surgical department, said in a comment to Suspilne Kharkiv.
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