Mapping the front lines of Ukraine and the scenarios to stop fire

Speculation spun out whether the Trump-Putin summit would cause the map of Ukraine to be violent-and-changed.

Russia has claimed huge parts of Ukraine since 2014, when President Vladimir Putin made his first move.

At that time, within a short few months, Moscow carried out a relatively bloodless occupation and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.

But this was followed by Russia-backed separatist movement in the Eastern Donbass region, in particular, the two regions, or “areas” known as Donetsk and Luhansk.

War suffocated there for eight years.

Ukraine lost about 14,000 soldiers and civilians during this period.

But in February 2022, Putin started his full -scale invasion. The Russian troops quickly reached the outskirts of Kiev and seized huge parts south, including large pieces of two more areas, the attachment and Herson.

Since then, the war has broken down and has been flowing. Now Russia controls less territory -from about 27% in the spring of 2022 to about 20% now. To the east, Russian forces are progressing, but very slowly and at a great price.

President Volodimir Zelenski of Ukraine says that an unconditional cessation of the fire is now needed. European allies also insist on stopping battles. US President Donald Trump says this is trying to achieve.

But at the beginning of the Alaska summit with Putin Trump, he began to speak for territorial swaps instead. This sent shock waves to Kyiv and Europe.

It is not at all clear what Trump refers to Earth or how these swaps might look like, given that the whole territory in question belongs to Ukraine.

As of August 2025, the territory of Ukraine looks as follows:

Russia would dearly love to expand its control over the whole Luhansk and Donetsk.

Some reports suggest that Putin requires Ukraine to convey the rest of the territory, which controls in both areas.

But this would mean that Kiev is giving up places that have died tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers, trying to protect – cities such as Krasthesk and Slajansk, and a fortified line protecting the Ukrainian territory in the north and west.

For Kyiv, such a concession would be a bitter pill for swallowing. For Moscow, whose losses were even more catastrophic, this will be seen as a victory.

Zelenski said on Tuesday that Ukraine “could not” leave Donbass as Moscow would use the region as a springboard to attack the rest of the country.

In recent days, Russian forces seem to be pushed strongly and make progress near the city of Dobropila. But it is not yet clear whether this marks a significant strategic move or just an effort to show Trump that Moscow has the upper hand.

How about the attachment and heron captured in 2022?

It is announced here that Russia offers to stop its offensive and freeze the lines.

But would Russia be ready to return any of it?

On Monday, Trump speaks vaguely about “Ocean ownership from the front”-probably referring to part of this coastline along the Azov or Black Sea.

But all this is part of Putin’s strategic vital bridge connecting Russia to the occupied Crimea.

It is difficult to see that the Russian leader agrees to give something from him. Like Donetsk and Luhansk, Putin views these places as part of Russia and illegally annexed them three years ago in four referendums, considered ashamed.

For Ukraine and Europe, the territorial swaps-this very early stage of the conversations-non-standard.

In the end, a discussion can come about future boundaries, but only when the war has stopped and the security of Ukraine is guaranteed.