According to a report by the Washington Post on October 18th, two American officials familiar with the details of the "Shuangpu" call on the 16th revealed that during the call, Putin put forward an "ultimatum"-style proposal: In order to stop the war, Ukraine must withdraw its troops from the Donbass region, and as a "compromise" Russia will consider giving up claims on parts of the territory of both Helsinki and Zaporizhia.

For Putin's "proposal", Trump did not speak out, but only called for peace, stressing the need for a ceasefire.But there is no doubt that the two will discuss the "topic" again in a meeting in Budapest two weeks later.

Regarding the "compromise" plan proposed by Putin, some European diplomats commented: It's like Ukraine selling its legs to itself. Some netizens also commented that Putin's proposal is tantamount to "empty gloves and white wolves". Why is there such a "description"? This starts with the "legal ownership" and "status quo" of the four places in Wudong.

Before the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war on 24 February 2022, Lugansk, Donetsk, Helsinki and Zaporozhye, the four eastern regions of Ukraine, were recognized as Ukrainian territories. Six months after the war, the four countries held the so-called "referendum" on 23-27 September 2022 respectively, and on 30 September, the four were officially incorporated into the Russian Federation map. Since then, the Russian side has begun to claim "sovereignty" over the four countries.

Open-source information shows that since Russia claimed sovereignty over the four eastern regions to this day, Russia has controlled the entire region of Lugansk (Russia declared full occupation of Lugansk in 2025-6), occupying about 67% of the area of Donetsk, occupying 63% of the land of Helsinki, and controlling about 67% of the area of Zaporizhia.

From the data point of view, although Russia claimed sovereignty over the four regions in eastern Ukraine as early as September 30, 2022, so far, the Russian army has not completely occupied "its own territory." Especially in the Donbass region (Luhansk and Donetsk collectively known as Donbass), about 60% of the region had "separated" from Ukraine long before Russia launched special military operations.

According to calculations by Western think tanks, in more than three and a half years of war, the Russian army actually occupied less than 20% of the territory in the Donbas region. Moreover, the Russian army failed to capture strategic locations like the "Red Army City" after two years of fighting.

In terms of resources, historical ties, real politics and other factors, the Donbas region is a "battleground" for the Kremlin. Therefore, Moscow does not hesitate to "exchange" land in other places for the integrity of Donbass, such as "part of the territory" of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

However, some analysts believe that Putin did not "clarify" in his proposal whether to use the "occupied territories" or "unoccupied territories" of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in exchange for Ukrainian "voluntary withdrawal" from the Donbas region. It is said that his words were: he intends to give up his claim to "part of the territory" of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Because it carries the word "claim", it is logical to say that it is "occupied territory" or "unoccupied territory". Because even the land that has not yet been controlled has long been "incorporated" into the territory of The Russian Federation and already belongs to Russian territory. Obviously, the "power of interpretation" lies in the hands of Russia.

In fact, some U.S. media that the Alaska meeting on August 15 this year may be based on the same "Ulon" event because, before the Alaska meeting, U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Witkov had talked for five hours in the Kremlin with Putin, and mistakenly interpreted what Putin said "to give up claims to parts of the territory of Helsinki and Zaporozhye" as "to give up the occupied territory of Helsinki and Zaporozhye".

It is precisely because of Witkov's "misreading" that Trump thinks that Putin has made a "major compromise". Based on this, Trump, who was "elated", quickly arranged a meeting in Alaska, but when he met with Putin face to face, he realized that Putin really meant to give up his claim of "unoccupied territory" rather than giving up "occupied territory". Since the "two bifurcations" have gone, it is naturally difficult to form a "consensus".

In fact, even the "occupied territories" of Khersson and Zaporizhne are still Ukraine's territory, and Russia is only "temporarily occupied." If the "temporarily occupied" land of Khersson and Zaporizhz is exchanged for the "unoccupied" land of Donbas, such a "deal" would be as described by European diplomats as "Ukraine sold its legs to itself again."

If the territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which are "only claimed" but have not yet been controlled in their own hands, are "exchanged" for the entire Donbas region that has been fought for 11 years and still cannot be fully controlled, then it will be a proper "empty gloves". White wolf ". If such a "deal" can also be accepted by Trump, it can only mean one thing: as long as there is a "ceasefire", everything will be fine, regardless of whether there will be a flood after that? In fact, Trump may be thinking so.

After talking to Putin on the 16th and meeting with Zelensky on the 17th, Trump wrote on social media: ¡°It is time to stop killing and reach an agreement, enough blood has flowed, the boundaries have been defined by war and courage, let them all declare victory, let history judge!¡±Obviously, all Trump wants is a "ceasefire."

It has to be said that if Putin's "empty gloves and white wolf" strategy can be successful, Trump will also "contribute". After all, "good cooperation" can get twice the result with half the effort.