Fiona Hill and Angela Stent, in Foreign Affairs 

Despite calls by some for a negotiated settlement that would involve Ukrainian territorial concessions, Putin seems uninterested in a compromise that would leave Ukraine as a sovereign, independent state—whatever its borders. According to multiple former senior U.S. officials we spoke with, in April 2022, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators appeared to have tentatively agreed on the outlines of a negotiated interim settlement: Russia would withdraw to its position on February 23, when it controlled part of the Donbas region and all of Crimea, and in exchange, Ukraine would promise not to seek NATO membership and instead receive security guarantees from a number of countries. But as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated in a July interview with his country’s state media, this compromise is no longer an option.

"this compromise is no longer an option." And why is that? 

repeats:

Following the arrival of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Kyiv, a possible meeting between Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin has become less likely. 

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Hill and Stent 

CORRECTION APPENDED (AUGUST 29, 2022)

An earlier version of this article mistakenly stated that Putin said he was prepared to fight to the last Ukrainian. He instead stated that the West was prepared to fight to the last Ukrainian.

Sept. 3, 4

Branko Marcetic with support from Ishchenko