Donald Trump's renewed push to end the war in Ukraine has taken an unusual turn, with US negotiators reportedly exploring a way to redraw Ukrainian regional boundaries that could allow Russia to claim a territorial victory without forcing Kyiv to surrender cities it still controls.
The idea, described in reporting by The Economist and subsequently reported by ANSA, comes as Russian and Ukrainian officials meet for US-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11, their first such negotiations since February.
But the diplomatic urgency may have another explanation. Trump's defeat in the US midterm elections has given Democrats control of both chambers of Congress from January, potentially exposing his chief negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to intensified scrutiny over alleged conflicts of interest.
Could changing Ukraine's regional borders help end the war?
According to The Economist's reporting, American negotiators have discussed altering the administrative boundaries of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which together form the Donbas area that Moscow has sought to control throughout the conflict.
The proposed arrangement could theoretically allow Vladimir Putin to declare that Russia controls both regions in their entirety, while Ukraine retains cities and territory currently defended by its armed forces.
It would address a central obstacle in the negotiations: Russia continues to demand the entirety of Donbas, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected surrendering territory still under Ukrainian control.
However, changing administrative boundaries would not automatically change military positions, international borders or legal sovereignty.
Ukraine's constitution establishes the unity and integrity of its territory and identifies Donetsk and Luhansk among the country's constituent regions. Article 73 also requires a nationwide referendum for changes to Ukraine's territory, although altering an internal administrative boundary is legally distinct from surrendering sovereign territory.
That distinction matters. The reported American idea has not been publicly accepted by Ukraine or Russia, and there is no confirmed agreement explaining how it would be implemented or recognised.
The broader territorial dispute remains unresolved. Reuters reported on Tuesday that a senior Ukrainian official rejected suggestions Kyiv was prepared to make territorial concessions, saying such matters could only be addressed by national leaders and alongside appropriate security guarantees.
Trump's election defeat creates a new deadline for his negotiators
The proposed diplomatic manoeuvre comes against a changing political landscape in Washington.
Democrats won control of both the House of Representatives and Senate in the November 3 midterm elections, giving them substantially greater power to investigate the Trump administration when the new Congress takes office in January.
According to sources in Washington and Kyiv cited by The Economist, that approaching political shift has increased pressure to secure progress towards ending the war.
Questions surrounding the administration's negotiators are not entirely hypothetical.
On October 30, Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin publicly demanded that Kushner withdraw from negotiations involving Russia and Iran, citing allegations concerning foreign financial relationships and potential conflicts of interest.
Then, on November 8, Representative Robert Garcia, the leading Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Kushner could be called to testify as lawmakers examine possible conflicts between his private business interests and diplomatic activities.
The White House has maintained that Kushner's business activities are separate from his diplomatic work. The allegations and demands for scrutiny do not establish wrongdoing.
Nevertheless, Democratic control of Congress could make it harder for administration officials to avoid formal investigative requests. That gives the reported political deadline a concrete basis, even though it does not establish that potential investigations are driving Trump's decisions.
Peace talks begin, but Russia and Ukraine remain divided
Witkoff and Kushner are leading Washington's mediation efforts in Abu Dhabi, where discussions extend beyond territorial disagreements to include Ukraine's future security and Europe's wider relationship with Russia.
At the opening of the talks, Kushner said recent diplomatic contacts had narrowed differences between the two countries. Ukrainian representatives emphasised the need for lasting security guarantees, while Russian officials expressed hope for progress.
European governments are also seeking a meaningful role in the negotiations, arguing that any lasting agreement must address the continent's security. Moscow has resisted their direct participation in the principal discussions.
Security guarantees remain particularly contentious. Ukraine wants credible protection against renewed Russian aggression, while Moscow continues to oppose several arrangements Kyiv considers essential, including the presence of a multinational support force.
The reported boundary proposal illustrates how far American negotiators may be willing to explore unconventional compromises. But its central questions remain unanswered: whether Moscow would accept such an arrangement, whether Kyiv could agree to it without compromising its sovereignty, and what would prevent the fighting from resuming.
For Trump, an agreement before January could offer a significant foreign-policy achievement ahead of a more hostile Congress. For Ukraine, however, the decisive issue is whether any settlement provides lasting security rather than simply allowing the parties to describe the same territory differently.
