Putin to demand Ukraine sharply reduce military ties with NATO in Trump talks — Bloomberg

Vladimir Putin plans to demand that Ukraine drastically reduce its military ties with NATO and adopt neutral status with a limited military during negotiations with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on the Russia-Ukraine war, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the Kremlin’s position.

According to these sources, Putin, increasingly confident in Russian forces’ battlefield advantages, aims to secure Ukraine’s renunciation of NATO membership and a restriction of its military capabilities.

The Kremlin is reportedly not opposed to individual NATO countries supplying weapons to Kyiv under bilateral security agreements, a Bloomberg source familiar with Moscow’s preparations for potential talks said. However, the Kremlin maintains that such weapons must not be used against Russia or to reclaim Ukrainian territories currently occupied by Russian forces.

The Kremlin also intends to insist on retaining control over the 20 percent of Ukrainian territory already under Russian military and governmental control, including annexed Crimea. Some sources told Bloomberg that Russia is open to territorial exchanges, though they did not specify which areas might be negotiated.

Reuters previously reported on the conditions Russia could propose in potential talks. According to its sources, Putin is willing to discuss a cease-fire in Ukraine but remains firmly opposed to Ukraine’s NATO membership and unwilling to make significant territorial concessions.