Just for fun, I’m going to share a rough overview of my personal opinion on a few key topics I believe will be part of the upcoming peace negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and the USA, before any official announcements or details are made public.

I believe the first demand will be that Ukraine must cede the parts of the Donbas oblasts directly involved in the conflict. Specifically, the DPR, LPR, and Crimea will need to be recognized by Kyiv as autonomous regions, (in line with the 2015 Minsk Agreements). Here is a map illustrating this:

Furthermore, at present, Zelenskyy (who, strictly speaking – and as President Trump rightly pointed out just the other day – is the “unelected” president, having canceled the scheduled presidential election that was supposed to take place in May 2024) will likely need to sign any agreement as the “temporary president” or a similar designation, as agreed by all parties involved in the peace talks. To my knowledge, no opposition parties currently exist, due to Zelenskyy’s dissolution of the parliament.

I believe that the people in the regions in the Donbas who had previously declared their autonomy/sovereignty through referenda held in 2014 and had requested to be a part of the Russian Federation will be included in the ‘peace agreement’, as well as those areas which Russia “liberated” during the Special Military Operation initiated in February 2022, (but which is referred to as the Russian invasion. (It seems likely that all Russian-speaking Ukrainians will seek protection from Russia once the conflict concludes, especially given the clear animosity Ukrainian-speaking people have towards Russia and Russian speakers, for reasons that remain unclear).

The false claims made by Western media outlets and politicians who oppose Presidents Putin and Trump—accusing Russia of “invading” and “taking” Crimea and other regions, and suggesting that President Trump is solely interested in seizing Ukraine’s minerals—are deeply frustrating, intentionally misleading, and downright dangerous. There are many facets to the Ukrainian issue, including the questionable involvement of prominent US politicians and world leaders, which I won’t delve into here. The purpose of this piece is to provide a general overview of how I see the situation playing out, prior to the official announcement, which I believe is going to be announced within the next few days.

The map and write-up below about Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea are from my ‘search’ of the topics, which I simply ‘copy-pasted’ the map and write-ups for ‘official’ references

‘Donetsk and Luhansk Republics

The Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) are breakaway regions in the Donbas area of Eastern Ukraine. Both declared independence in 2014, with the DPR established on April 7, 2014, and the LPR on April 27, 2014. They are officially recognized by Russia as sovereign states and are under Russian control, though they are internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.124

The DPR and LPR have their own political structures, with Denis Pushilin as the head of the DPR and Leonid Pasechnik as the head of the LPR.12 Both regions have experienced significant conflict and human rights abuses, including torture and arbitrary detention.8

The Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic have been in a near-continuous state of conflict since their establishment, with an estimated 14,000 people killed, mostly combatants.4 The regions have also seen a significant reduction in freedom of speech and political repression.8

As of February 22, 2025, the DPR and LPR remain under Russian control, with the most recent territorial changes occurring in late 2023 and early 2024

Crimean independence

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol declared independence on March 11, 2014, after a referendum where residents voted overwhelmingly to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.41 The declaration was adopted by the Supreme Council of Crimea and the Sevastopol City Council, proclaiming the region a sovereign state known as the Republic of Crimea.1 However, this declaration of independence and the subsequent referendum were not internationally recognized by most countries.’

In Conclusion:

The issue of Zelenskyy not being the “official president of Ukraine” is significant, as he unilaterally cancelled the scheduled 2024 elections under the pretext of Martial Law. This raises questions about his authority to sign any legally binding documents, an issue that will need to be addressed during the peace talks. Attempting to organize an election under the present conditions would be both impractical and excessively difficult, not to mention highly unlikely to succeed.

That being said, I will summarize my initial thoughts on some of the key talking points I personally believe will arise in the upcoming peace talks:

• That the DPR, LPR, and Crimea will need to be officially recognized by both the Ukrainian government and the UN, along with the areas liberated by Russia during the Special Military Operation that began in February 2022 (often referred to as a “Russian invasion” by NATO, the EU, the UK, and other countries). It seems likely that all Russian-speaking Ukrainians will seek protection from Russia once the conflict ends, particularly given the clear animosity Ukrainian-speaking people have towards Russia and Russian speakers—though the reasons for this remain unclear to me, as I haven’t explored that aspect of the Ukrainian issue at this time.
• Russia and Ukraine will likely agree to the new Ukraine-Russia borders, which I expect to closely resemble the current maps of the disputed regions. These borders will be fully clarified during the peace negotiations, with both sides agreeing to withdraw their troops accordingly.
• An arrangement will be made allowing the United States to establish, co-manage, and operate mining operations in these regions, employing both Ukrainian and possibly American workers for as long as necessary to repay the debt owed to the USA.
• After a transparent and legitimate democratic election, the Ukrainian government will confirm its agreement to allocate a regular portion of the mined minerals toward repaying the substantial debt owed to the United States, which is reportedly around $360 billion—though Zelenskyy has claimed it to be much lower. (No doubt, DOGE will play a role in clarifying the discrepancy in the true figures).
• Of course, what remains of Ukraine will need to be officially recognized as a neutral territory, with no permission to join NATO or any other “anti-Russia” organization.
• All confiscated or stolen Russian assets must be returned to Russia by Ukraine. As for the assets taken by other countries, that will need to be addressed in a completely separate discussion and set of negotiations, away from the ones directly involving Ukraine and Russia.

I will publish this now – ahead of the official announcement of President Trump’s statements, which are expected any day – and remember, it is simply my ‘take’.

I may well keep adding to what I think will be discussed prior to the announcements and then once they’ve stated what is being negotiated, I may well put my two cents’ worth in during the events.

Of course, as far as Europe, NATO, and the rest of the world are concerned, that will have to wait. I may come up with my thoughts on what those discussions will entail as the situation unfolds.

I’d be interested in knowing the thoughts of those who happen to read mine and I do hope that some will take the time to share them below. (When ‘the comments’ section works, of course)! lol