Germany was divided into four occupation zones controlled by the US, the UK, France and the erstwhile Soviet Union after the Second World War. Berlin, located within the Soviet zone, was also divided into four sectors, with each Allied Power administering a different part. This division ultimately led to the creation of East Germany (German Democratic Republic) in the Soviet zone and West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) in the Western zone.

General Keith Kellogg, the US Special Envoy to Ukraine, recently suggested that Ukraine could be split “almost like Berlin after World War II” in the event of a ceasefire! As expected, his unprecedented proposal for a peace treaty between the two former Soviet Republics has shocked the global community.

General Kellogg suggested that the British and French troops could serve as a reassurance force in western Ukraine, while the Russian forces maintain control over the eastern part (already occupied by Russia). He further suggested that a demilitarised zone and the Ukrainian troops would separate the two forces, stressing: “You could almost make it look like what happened with Berlin after World War II, when you had a Russian zone, a French zone, a British zone and a US zone.“

Immediately after his proposal triggered an uproar across the globe, General Kellogg clarified on social media that his comments were misrepresented. The US envoy claimed that he was discussing a post-ceasefire resiliency force supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty, and not partitioning the country. On social media, he wrote: “I was speaking of a post-ceasefire resiliency force in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty. In discussions of partitioning, I was referencing areas or zones of responsibility for an Allied Force (without US troops). I was NOT referring to a partitioning of Ukraine.“

Reports suggest that US Special Envoy Steven Charles Witkoff is behind this plan. During his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin in St Petersburg on April 11, 2025, Witkoff reportedly said that Moscow could take control of some key areas of Ukraine, while other regions could be under control of the European Union (EU). Later, the Kremlin stated that the productive meeting, focused mainly on different “aspects of a Ukrainian settlement“, lasted for more than four hours. Meanwhile, the Western media have reported that there have been strategic differences within the Donald Trump Administration regarding this plan.

It may be noted that several top US officials attended a dinner with an envoy of President Putin in the second week of April 2025. Media outlets received this piece of information (regarding the partition of Ukraine) within 48 hours of that event. Steve Witkoff was heard saying: “The fastest way to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine would be to support a strategy that would give Russia ownership of four eastern Ukrainian regions it attempted to annex illegally in 2022.“

Interestingly, neither Moscow nor Witkoff issued any official statement on what was actually said at the meeting which did not include representatives from Ukraine, despite President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy‘s suggestion that his country should be involved in peace talks.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das