National security adviser Mike Waltz said Ukraine likely would have to cede some of its Donbas region to Russia if it wants a long-term peace deal.
The comments, during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night, come as the Trump administration pressures Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine.
Trump officials have previously signaled Ukraine should not expect to return to its pre-2014 borders as part of the peace talks, which effectively takes the Crimean peninsula out of negotiations.
But it’s less clear how much of the eastern Donbas region Ukraine will need to cede, with Russia claiming more land than it currently occupies. Hannity outlined vague contours of a peace plan during his interview with Waltz on Friday.
“I would imagine that Ukraine being a part of NATO is not going to happen, and I would imagine parts — maybe the Donbas region in particular or areas that are heavily populated by people from Russia, that would go to Putin in any negotiated settlement. Am I wrong in my conjecture here?” Hannity asked.
“Sean, no surprise, you’re not wrong in any of that,” Waltz responded. “And what’s important is that we are discussing all of those things with both sides. We are having those discussions with our counterparts, with the Russians.”
“We are having those discussions with our counterparts with the Ukrainians and — and we are pushing both sides together with President Trump, the dealmaker in chief, that is determined to end this war,” he added.
Trump has repeatedly told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky he does not “hold the cards” in talks to end the war, launched by Russia three years ago, as the U.S. president pursues direct and exclusive talks with Putin.
The U.S. briefly paused intelligence sharing and military aid to the Eastern European nation after Trump and Zelensky engaged in a verbal spat in the Oval Office in late February.
Ukraine has been working to mend ties with the U.S., as Europe looks to ramp up its defense spending, seeing the U.S. as an increasingly unreliable ally.
During talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Ukraine agreed to back a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, effectively freezing the current front lines. The Trump administration also lifted its brief freeze on military and intelligence support.
Putin on Thursday said he was open to the U.S. ceasefire proposal but had his own conditions to ensure the “causes” of the war were addressed. A top Putin adviser said the ceasefire helped Ukraine and did nothing for Russia.
“Of course both sides are going to have their demands, and, of course, both sides are going to have to — to make some compromises, and the shuttle diplomacy of going back and forth is happening,” Waltz told Fox News.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, who has taken on a sprawling foreign affairs portfolio, landed in Russia on Thursday to meet with Putin.
“I’ve spoken into my counterpart, Special Envoy Witkoff is — is out there and bringing things back for us to evaluate and for the President Trump to make decisions on next steps,” Waltz said.
