Putin, rising in Ukraine, sees the contours of a Trump peace deal

MOSCOW –

Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to discussing a ceasefire deal between Ukraine and US President-elect Donald Trump, but rules out making any major territorial concessions and insists that Kiev abandon ambitions to join NATO, they said five sources with knowledge of Kremlin thinking.

Trump, who has vowed to quickly end the conflict, returns to the White House at a time of Russia’s rise. Moscow controls a piece of Ukraine the size of the US state of Virginia and is advancing at its fastest pace since the invasion began in 2022.

In the first detailed report on what President Putin would accept in any deal brokered by Trump, the five current and former Russian officials said the Kremlin could broadly agree to freeze the conflict along the front line.