Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region that it controls as part of a ceasefire deal, a proposal the leader categorically rejected.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region that it controls as part of a ceasefire deal, a proposal the leader categorically rejected.
Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine would not withdraw from territories it controls, saying that would be unconstitutional and would serve only as a springboard for a future Russian invasion.
He said diplomatic discussions led by the US focusing on ending the war have not touched on security guarantees for Ukraine to prevent future Russian aggression and that meeting formats currently being discussed do not include Europe’s participation, both key demands of Kyiv.
Meanwhile, Russian forces on the ground have been closing in on a key territorial grab around the city of Pokrovsk.
Zelensky said the necessity of territorial concessions was conveyed to him by US officials ahead of a summit Friday between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and in further meetings at the level of national security officials.
It remained unclear whether Ukraine would take part in the Friday summit. European Union leaders also have been sidelined from the meeting, and they appealed to Trump on Tuesday to protect their interests.Zelensky says Ukraine will not withdraw from the Donbas
Zelensky said Putin wants the remaining 9,000 square kilometers (3,500 square miles) of Donetsk under Kyiv’s control, where the war’s toughest battles are grinding on, as part of a ceasefire plan, in a press briefing on Tuesday in Kyiv.
Doing so would hand Russia almost the entirety of the Donbas, a region comprising Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland that Putin has long coveted.
Zelensky learned of Russia’s position after holding a call with Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff, after the latter’s bilateral meeting with Putin. Witkoff told Zelensky that Russia was ready to end the war and that there should be territorial concessions from both sides. Some European partners were also part of the call.
“And that, probably, Putin wants us to leave Donbas. That is, it didn’t sound like America wants us to leave,” he said, recounting the call.
Zelensky reiterated that withdrawing from Ukraine-controlled territory was out of the question, especially as the question of security guarantees for Ukraine, were not being discussed.
