(TJV NEWS) In a major development that could dramatically shift the course of the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly offered to freeze hostilities along the current front lines, signaling a possible opening toward a negotiated peace with the help of U.S. President Donald Trump. The Financial Times broke the story Tuesday, citing multiple sources familiar with ongoing backchannel talks.

According to the report, Putin conveyed the offer during a private meeting in St. Petersburg earlier this month with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy. The Russian leader suggested that Moscow may be willing to abandon claims to Ukrainian-controlled areas in four partially occupied regions — a significant softening of the Kremlin’s previously uncompromising stance.

“The proposal is the first formal indication Putin has given since the war’s early months three years ago that Russia could step back from its maximalist demands to end the invasion,” FT reported.

The Kremlin has not publicly confirmed the details of this proposal, and the offer appears to conflict with Putin’s past assertions that the territories annexed through controversial 2022 referendums — including Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson — are now irrevocably part of the Russian Federation.

However, the Financial Times notes that Trump’s team has floated ideas behind closed doors that could include U.S. recognition of Russian control over Crimea, and a de facto acknowledgment of Moscow’s current hold over parts of the four regions still partially occupied.

The timing of the report is striking. It comes just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky forcefully rejected any concessions on Crimea, calling the idea unconstitutional and a red line that Kyiv will not cross.

“There is nothing to talk about. This violates our Constitution. This is our territory,” Zelensky said in Kyiv on April 22.
“As soon as talks about Crimea and our sovereign territories begin, the talks enter the format that Russia wants — prolonging the war.”

Ukrainian officials have previously accused Moscow of using peace negotiations as a “smokescreen” — a tactic to stall while reinforcing its military position. This sentiment has only intensified after a recent 30-hour ceasefire that both sides claimed was violated repeatedly.

Zero Hedge, which flagged the FT story, emphasized the seismic shift this reported Russian offer represents — if true. The site noted that this would be the first sign of Russia stepping back from its full territorial ambitions since the earliest days of the war.

The Trump administration has yet to publicly confirm the details of the discussions, but signs point to a concerted push for a “grand bargain” that could bring the grinding war closer to an end — even as both Kyiv and Moscow remain sharply divided on core issues of sovereignty and territorial control.