{"id":72395,"date":"2026-03-27T18:47:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T18:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:29:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:29:22","slug":"donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/","title":{"rendered":"Donbas-for-peace offer raises fears of more war, nuclear spread"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KYIV, Ukraine \u2014 The price of U.S. security guarantees to end Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine<\/a> became explicit this week: Kyiv must give up all of Donbas \u2014 about 10% of its territory, or about 15% of its prewar GDP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States<\/a> has asked Ukraine to withdraw from all of the eastern region \u2014 including areas it has held during more than 14 years of Russian attacks \u2014 before it will finalize the long-term protections it has been discussing with Kyiv for months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/a> said, describing the negotiation in comments to Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The demand followed bilateral talks in Florida with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior adviser Jared Kushner last weekend that Zelenskyy said produced no real progress<\/a>, a sharper assessment than his earlier claim that the guarantees were \u201c100% ready.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just three weeks earlier, Zelenskyy tried to close the door on the central trade-off in the talks. Ukraine would \u201cnever leave Donbas and the 200,000 Ukrainians who live there,\u201d he told Corriere della Sera<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the battlefield<\/a> did not slow down to match the diplomacy. Ukraine seized more ground in a February counteroffensive than at any point since 2023, according to the Institute for the Study of War<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia answered this week with its spring offensive \u2014 nearly 1,000 strikes in 24 hours, the largest attack of the war. Ukraine hit back the next day with about 400 drones, crippling at least 40% of Russia\u2019s oil export capacity, according to Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian officials said this week the talks had been paused, though it was not clear when \u2014 or whether \u2014 they would resume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat Ukraine is being asked to do is politically and morally unacceptable,\u201d retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the former commander of U.S. Army Europe, told Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his view, the Donbas demand isn\u2019t a bargaining chip \u2014 it is the point of the deal, and a test of whether Washington is willing to trade Ukrainian territory for a paper promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re asking a country that\u2019s been invaded to surrender its people and its land, and you\u2019re calling that peace,\u201d Hodges said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As experts see it, the deal isn\u2019t a path to peace so much as a demand Ukraine can\u2019t accept: trading away Donbas for an undefined guarantee from a guarantor whose credibility is already fraying, as the Iran war drains the weapons Kyiv needs and boosts the Russian war machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Soldiers conduct a Patriot missile live-fire at MacGregor Range near Fort Bliss, Texas, Aug. 23, 2025. (Sgt. JaDarius Duncan\/U.S. Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And if the message is that even a country that gave up its nuclear arsenal can be told to cede land for a \u201cmaybe,\u201d the result won\u2019t be peace, they argue, but more wars and more states concluding they need the bomb to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retired U.S. Ambassador Ian Kelly, who served as ambassador to Georgia when Russia occupied 20% of the country, said the pattern was not new. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe gave them the Javelin but then said, \u2018By the way, don\u2019t use them,\u2019\u201d Kelly told Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly said the outline is familiar: a concession Kyiv cannot make, paired with a promise that has not been spelled out \u2014 and offered by a sponsor whose follow-through is already doubted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While any ceasefire signed under those conditions would be temporary, Kelly said, the precedent it sets would be permanent: it tells Moscow what kinds of demands work, and it tells U.S. partners what American protection is actually worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The uncertanties behind it come fast: what, exactly, Washington is offering; what enforcing it would actually require without the U.S.; and what happens if the guarantee fails its first credibility test. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Either way, the long shadow is the same. Deterrence doesn\u2019t disappear \u2014 it migrates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guarantee mirage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The security guarantee at the center of the deal carries a basic problem: the people involved don\u2019t appear to agree on what it means or whether it would hold up when tested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February, Zelenskyy tried to make one of Ukraine\u2019s few real political concessions count: he said Kyiv would drop its bid to join NATO, a goal that had anchored Ukraine\u2019s post-2019 foreign policy and one Moscow has long used to justify its war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, Zelenskyy said, offered what it described as \u201cArticle 5-like\u201d security guarantees in return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hodges said the wording was the tell. Article 5 is a treaty commitment with a known trigger and an alliance behind it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cArticle 5-like\u201d is neither. \u201cThat\u2019s not a security guarantee,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a phrase.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He called it an \u201cabsolutely empty promise.\u201d If the administration won\u2019t even enforce existing sanctions \u2014 he pointed to India importing more Russian oil than before the war \u2014 \u201cthe administration\u2019s not serious,\u201d Hodges said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t design security guarantees on the basis of \u2018maybe,\u2019\u201d Hodges added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said he had zero confidence the current administration would treat a Russian drone attack on Ukraine the way it would treat one on New York or Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDoes it have to be 50 drones or is it one drone?\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t have any confidence that they would really do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the deeper problem, he said, is that both sides know it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is where we get into the Jedi mind tricks,\u201d Hodges said. \u201cI find it hard to believe that the Ukrainians trust … the Americans. So, they\u2019re also positing that simply as a negotiation tactic\u201d to by time, he argued, for Europeans \u201cto rediscover their strategic backbone and do what needs to be done to provide those capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A Ukrainian officer shows a thermobaric charge of a downed Shahed drone launched by Russia, Nov. 14, 2024. (Efrem Lukatsky\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Most NATO allies still fall short of the alliance\u2019s defense spending targets. Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull the U.S. out if they do not pay up, leaving Ukraine reliant on a security umbrella its own guarantor is threatening to fold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hodges said the administration\u2019s approach was failing not because the negotiations were insincere, but because Washington had refused to back Ukraine on the most fundamental issues from the start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey never cared about the origin of the war,\u201d Hodges said. \u201cThey\u2019ve never been willing to say that Russia was the aggressor. They\u2019ve never said, \u2018Russia, you\u2019ve got to get out.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A deal no one believes in<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When looking at the track record \u2014 the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which failed to prevent Russia\u2019s invasion after Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal, and the Minsk ceasefire agreements that repeatedly collapsed \u2014 the new guarantee does not get any easier to take at face value, experts and insiders said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed Arnold, a senior research fellow for European security at the Royal United Services Institute and a former British Army infantry officer, said the guarantee breaks down in three places: Washington is unlikely to commit to it, Kyiv is unsure it would hold and the Kremlin would sign only to keep fighting on better terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs the U.S. going to provide Ukraine something like mutual security assistance? I don\u2019t think so,\u201d Arnold told Military Times. \u201cAnd even if they did, do the Ukrainians believe in it? And pretty critically, does Putin believe in it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arnold pointed to the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate accords, both presidential directives that were reversed by successor administrations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[Those directives] are not legally binding,\u201d he said. \u201cThe U.S. has fairly consistently let Ukraine down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if the guarantees were defined, the rules of enforcement make it practically impossible to sustain without the U.S., whose military spending exceeds that of every European NATO member combined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEurope simply does not have the capacity to provide the same level,\u201d Arnold said. \u201cYet at the same time, they can\u2019t trust the United States, given America\u2019s most recent actions \u2014 let alone history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what European governments do send, they lose permanently from their own defense posture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arnold calculated that any peacekeeping force of 15,000 to 25,000 soldiers requires triple that in a rotation committed indefinitely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhatever you\u2019re going to put into Ukraine, you\u2019re permanently taking it away from what is available to you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The diplomat said the deeper failure was not material but political. The failure of European leaders to convince their own populations that Russian aggression was a threat to them, not just to Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEurope has completely failed at deterrence,\u201d he told Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arnold traced the political logic to its root. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPolitically, you don\u2019t win votes by spending more money on defense and less on welfare,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is a continent that has, in many ways, lost strategic control of its own defensives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have handed escalation control to Russia,\u201d he said. \u201cThey continuously escalate. And we keep absorbing it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A residential building is seen damaged after a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Jan. 9, 2026. (Efrem Lukatsky\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For Zelenskyy, a deal that locks in a Ukrainian withdrawal from Donbas would force Kyiv to formalize a loss it has spent years saying it will not accept. It would also put Zelenskyy\u2019s own pledge to \u201cnever leave Donbas\u201d on the line, along with the roughly 200,000 Ukrainians he has said are still there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt would be toxic to sign up to something just to say that Russia gets off the hook for everything it\u2019s done in not just the last four years, actually the last 12,\u201d Arnold said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why the deal, as described, does not reduce the risk of another war, Arnold added. It pushes it down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRussians certainly don\u2019t want peace,\u201d he said. \u201cThey do want their economy to improve, probably to move against Ukraine again in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin \u201cis not in the mood to negotiate and is kind of making a fool of Trump,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The price and the precedent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kelly said Washington was not eliminating the risk of escalation with Russia, but instead moving that risk down the chain, from the U.S. onto Ukraine and onto European allies that have less capacity to absorb it. In doing so, the risk of where increases everywhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t impose the necessary costs on that, it\u2019s obviously a lesson for other countries in the world,\u201d Kelly told Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly said that is the logic of what economists call a \u201cmoral hazard.\u201d One party avoids the cost of a dangerous outcome by shifting it onto someone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re doing here. We see a risk of a nuclear engagement with Russia, so we transfer that risk to the only country that\u2019s paying the price.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That shift, he argued, forces U.S. allies to rethink the core premise that has underpinned European security since World War II: that Washington would backstop them if Russia attacked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEurope has to basically operate on the assumption that they can\u2019t count on the United States when it comes to Ukraine,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For decades, many U.S. partners shaped their defense policies around that backstop, scaling down militaries, forgoing their own nuclear options and betting that American power would be there in a crisis. If that guarantee is no longer assumed, Kelly said, countries start recalculating what they need to deter Russia on their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheir ultimate deterrent was always the U.S. nuclear umbrella,\u201d he said. Without it, the logic that kept dozens of nations from pursuing their own weapons programs collapses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat could mean that these states are going to want to have their own nuclear deterrent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nuclear shadow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

France has already started talking in those terms. In early March, President Emmanuel Macron used a speech at France\u2019s nuclear submarine base in Brittany \u2014 home to the country\u2019s nuclear submarine fleet \u2014 to argue Europe needs to think about deterrence in a more self-reliant way, and to signal Paris is prepared to play a bigger role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe global framework for nuclear arms control now resembles a field of ruins,\u201d Macron said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He ordered what could be the first expansion of France\u2019s nuclear warheads since the Cold War and announced a doctrine of \u201cforward deterrence\u201d extended to European allies for the first time. This included the potential dispersal of strategic air forces across the continent, in what Le Monde<\/a> called \u201ca major step toward Europe.\u201d Macron declined to disclose the size of the arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the fourth anniversary of Russia\u2019s invasion, Ukraine\u2019s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov laid out the alternative conditions that could actually help ensure peace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe sky is secured, the Russian army loses its offensive potential and Russia\u2019s economy can no longer sustain the burden of war,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not one of those conditions has been met, and recent events seem to be taking Ukraine further from its goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macron, standing among the submarines, answered a different question \u2014 the one the entire negotiation had been avoiding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan we imagine the survival of our closest partners being threatened,\u201d he said, \u201cwithout that affecting our vital interests?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo be free, one needs to be feared \u2014 and to be feared, one must be powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Washington tying guarantees to territorial withdrawal, critics warn the deal could reward aggression and make nuclear proliferation more likely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":120520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-featured-layout","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":46,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"}}},"categories":[160,46,11,36,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3480],"class_list":["post-72395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-europe","category-global","category-newsletters","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"GDHTASRGNFHOTIOQ5OECC4C4HE","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"featured-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nDonbas-for-peace offer raises fears of more war, nuclear spread - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With Washington tying guarantees to territorial withdrawal, critics warn the deal could reward aggression and make nuclear proliferation more likely.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Donbas-for-peace offer raises fears of more war, nuclear spread\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With Washington tying guarantees to territorial withdrawal, critics warn the deal could reward aggression and make nuclear proliferation more likely.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-27T18:47:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T01:29:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Livingstone\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Livingstone\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/27\\\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/27\\\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f1587e1f8c0d41f0683bf42b02602ad8\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"Donbas-for-peace offer raises fears of more war, nuclear spread\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2026-03-27T18:47:18+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T01:29:22+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/27\\\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 2185,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/27\\\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2026-01-16T081058Z_59759176_RC282JA4MJU9_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-CHASIV-YAR.JPG.jpg\",\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t \"Europe\",\n\t \"Global\",\n\t \"Newsletters\",\n\t \"Pentagon\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/27\\\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/27\\\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/27\\\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Donbas-for-peace offer raises fears of more war, nuclear spread - Defense News\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/27\\\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/27\\\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2026-01-16T081058Z_59759176_RC282JA4MJU9_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-CHASIV-YAR.JPG.jpg\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2026-03-27T18:47:18+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T01:29:22+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"With Washington tying guarantees to territorial withdrawal, critics warn the deal could reward aggression and make nuclear proliferation more likely.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/27\\\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/27\\\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/27\\\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2026-01-16T081058Z_59759176_RC282JA4MJU9_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-CHASIV-YAR.JPG.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2026-01-16T081058Z_59759176_RC282JA4MJU9_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-CHASIV-YAR.JPG.jpg\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/27\\\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Global\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"global\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"Europe\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"europe\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 4,\n\t \"name\": \"Donbas-for-peace offer raises fears of more war, nuclear spread\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f1587e1f8c0d41f0683bf42b02602ad8\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Donbas-for-peace offer raises fears of more war, nuclear spread - Defense News","description":"With Washington tying guarantees to territorial withdrawal, critics warn the deal could reward aggression and make nuclear proliferation more likely.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Donbas-for-peace offer raises fears of more war, nuclear spread","og_description":"With Washington tying guarantees to territorial withdrawal, critics warn the deal could reward aggression and make nuclear proliferation more likely.","og_url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2026-03-27T18:47:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T01:29:22+00:00","author":"Katie Livingstone","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Katie Livingstone","Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/f1587e1f8c0d41f0683bf42b02602ad8"},"headline":"Donbas-for-peace offer raises fears of more war, nuclear spread","datePublished":"2026-03-27T18:47:18+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T01:29:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/"},"wordCount":2185,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-01-16T081058Z_59759176_RC282JA4MJU9_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-CHASIV-YAR.JPG.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Europe","Global","Newsletters","Pentagon"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/","url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/","name":"Donbas-for-peace offer raises fears of more war, nuclear spread - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-01-16T081058Z_59759176_RC282JA4MJU9_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-CHASIV-YAR.JPG.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-27T18:47:18+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T01:29:22+00:00","description":"With Washington tying guarantees to territorial withdrawal, critics warn the deal could reward aggression and make nuclear proliferation more likely.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-01-16T081058Z_59759176_RC282JA4MJU9_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-CHASIV-YAR.JPG.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-01-16T081058Z_59759176_RC282JA4MJU9_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-CHASIV-YAR.JPG.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/27\/donbas-for-peace-offer-raises-fears-of-more-war-nuclear-spread\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Global","item":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/","ad_zone":"global"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Europe","item":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/","ad_zone":"europe"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Donbas-for-peace offer raises fears of more war, nuclear spread"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/f1587e1f8c0d41f0683bf42b02602ad8","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-01-16T081058Z_59759176_RC282JA4MJU9_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-CHASIV-YAR.JPG.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72395"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72406,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72395\/revisions\/72406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72395"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=72395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}