Many lands are very different than before the war.
En los pasillos del poder y a bordo del Air Force One, Donald Trump anunció una llamada con Vladimir Putin para explorar un alto al fuego de treinta días en Ucrania, una guerra que desde 2022 ha borrado del mapa ucraniano el once por ciento de su territorio. Las negociaciones ya rozan lo concreto: tierras, plantas de energía, los huesos de un país desmembrado. La historia observa con cautela cómo el deseo de poner fin a un conflicto puede, en su prisa, consagrar las heridas que pretende cerrar.
- Trump anunció desde el Air Force One que llamaría a Putin el martes, alimentando expectativas de un posible anuncio sobre el conflicto más devastador de Europa en décadas.
- Moscú aceptó en principio el alto al fuego de treinta días, pero lo envolvió en condiciones que apuntan directamente a Kyiv: concesiones territoriales y reconocimiento de responsabilidad por parte del gobierno ucraniano.
- El once por ciento del territorio ucraniano perdido desde 2022 no es solo una cifra geográfica; representa millones de desplazados y ciudades convertidas en escombros que ahora son moneda de cambio en la mesa de negociaciones.
- Los aliados europeos de la OTAN observan con alarma creciente cómo Washington parece dispuesto a ofrecer concesiones a Moscú antes de que comiencen formalmente las negociaciones, cuestionando en voz alta el valor real de las garantías de seguridad estadounidenses.
- El enviado especial Steve Witkoff aseguró que Putin 'acepta la filosofía' de querer terminar la guerra, pero entre la filosofía y la paz firmada se extiende un territorio minado de ambigüedades.
Donald Trump anunció el domingo, a bordo del Air Force One, que llamaría a Vladimir Putin el martes con la esperanza de avanzar hacia un alto al fuego en Ucrania. Los negociadores de ambas partes ya han comenzado a discutir cómo dividir ciertos activos entre las dos naciones: tierras, plantas de energía, la infraestructura de un país sistemáticamente destruido. Ucrania había aceptado la semana anterior una propuesta de tregua de treinta días. La pregunta que quedaba en el aire era si Rusia haría lo mismo.
La pérdida territorial ucraniana desde la invasión de febrero de 2022 ronda el once por ciento del país, una cifra que representa no solo geografía sino millones de personas arrancadas de sus hogares. Trump lo reconoció sin rodeos: muchas de esas tierras son hoy muy distintas a lo que eran antes de la guerra. Moscú respondió a la propuesta de alto al fuego con una aceptación en principio, pero cargada de condiciones que exigen concesiones de Kyiv y atribuyen al gobierno ucraniano la responsabilidad del conflicto.
El enviado especial Steve Witkoff describió las conversaciones como productivas y sugirió que una pausa en los combates podría llegar en cuestión de semanas. Sin embargo, las concesiones territoriales permanecen como el núcleo más tenso de cualquier acuerdo posible. El presidente Zelensky ha resistido firmemente ceder territorio, y los aliados europeos de la OTAN temen que recompensar la invasión de Putin con ganancias territoriales siente un precedente catastrófico.
Lo que más inquieta a Europa no es solo el contenido de las negociaciones, sino su forma: la disposición de Washington a ofrecer concesiones a Moscú antes de que las conversaciones formales siquiera comiencen ha puesto en duda, en voz baja y no tan baja, si las garantías de seguridad estadounidenses que han sostenido el orden europeo durante setenta años siguen teniendo algún peso real.
Donald Trump stood aboard Air Force One on Sunday, returning from his Mar-a-Lago weekend, and announced he would call Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. The conversation, he suggested, might yield something worth announcing—a breakthrough in the war that has consumed Ukraine for over a year.
Negotiators working on both sides have already begun discussing how to divide certain assets between the two nations, Trump revealed to reporters. The specifics are still taking shape, but the outlines are becoming visible: land, power plants, the infrastructure of a country that has been systematically destroyed. Ukraine, he noted, had already accepted a thirty-day ceasefire proposal the previous week. Now the question hung in the air—would Russia do the same?
The math of territorial loss is stark. Since Russia's full invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has surrendered control of roughly eleven percent of its territory. That figure represents not just geography but homes, cities, millions of people displaced from their lives. The land itself has changed since the war began. What was Ukrainian soil before 2022 is no longer Ukrainian soil now. Trump acknowledged this plainly: "We'll talk about lands. As you know, many lands are very different than before the war."
Putin's response to the ceasefire proposal has been deliberately ambiguous. Moscow said yes in theory, but attached conditions—demands that Kyiv make concessions, insistence that the current Ukrainian government bears responsibility for the conflict itself. The Kremlin also confirmed that American negotiators would travel to Russia for further talks, though it released no details about who would go or what they would discuss. Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, told CNN on Sunday that the ongoing conversations were productive, that Putin "accepts the philosophy" of wanting the war to end, and that a pause in fighting could arrive within weeks.
But territorial concessions sit at the center of everything, and they are poisoned ground. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long resisted giving up land. European NATO allies worry openly that rewarding Putin's invasion with territorial gains sets a catastrophic precedent. Russia has made clear it will not return the territory it has taken. Trump's eagerness to offer Moscow concessions before formal negotiations even began has alarmed the very allies who have underwritten European security for seventy years. They are asking, quietly and not so quietly, whether American security guarantees mean anything anymore.
Putin himself said on Friday that his country is working to restore relations with the United States, relations that he claimed the previous administration had reduced to nearly nothing. "In general, the situation is starting to improve," he said of dealings with Trump's team. The machinery of negotiation is moving. Meetings between American negotiators and representatives from both Ukraine and Russia will continue this week. Trump will speak to Putin on Tuesday. What emerges from that call—whether there is something to announce, as Trump hopes—remains unknown. But the shape of a potential settlement is becoming visible, and it is a shape that leaves many in Europe deeply uneasy.
Notable Quotes
We'll talk about lands. As you know, many lands are very different than before the war. We'll talk about lands, we'll talk about power plants; that's a big question.— Donald Trump
Putin accepts the philosophy of the president Trump of wanting to see the end of the war, and the situation is starting to improve.— Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
When Trump talks about dividing assets and land, what exactly is he describing?
He's talking about the physical reality of occupation. Russia controls territory now. The question is whether Ukraine gets any of it back, and what it has to give up in exchange for a ceasefire. Power plants, infrastructure—these are the things that make a country function.
Why does territorial concession matter so much to Zelensky and Europe?
Because it looks like punishment for the victim. If you invade a country and then get to keep the land you conquered, the message is clear: invasion works. For NATO, it's worse—it suggests the alliance can't protect its members.
But Trump seems confident a deal is close.
He does. His envoy says weeks, not months. But confidence and reality are different things. Putin has attached conditions that essentially require Ukraine to surrender more than it already has.
What does Putin actually want?
Territory, obviously. But also legitimacy. He wants the world to accept that the current Ukrainian government is the problem, not his invasion. He wants the war to end on terms that look like a Russian victory.
Is there any scenario where this works for everyone?
Not really. Ukraine loses land either way. Europe loses faith in American security guarantees. Russia gets what it wanted through force. The only winner is whoever stops the dying first.
So why is Trump pushing so hard?
He wants to end the war quickly and claim credit. Whether the settlement is just or sustainable seems secondary to him.