Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine rejects any Russian proposal to hand over Donbas in exchange for a ceasefire, as the region could be used as a springboard for future attacks, BBC reports.
On Friday, the 15th of August, a meeting is scheduled in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Trump has already said that a ceasefire will require a redistribution of territory in any case. It is believed that one of Putin’s demands to Kiev will be the return of those parts of Donbas that are still under Ukrainian control.
Meanwhile, the Russian army continues its summer offensive and has made rapid progress. Zelensky admitted that the Russians have advanced in several places, but Kiev will soon destroy these units. The Ukrainian president added that it is clear to Ukrainians that Putin wants to fill the information space with a certain type of information before the meeting with Trump.
So far, there has been no official information about Putin’s demands.
Donbas consists of the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, which have been partially occupied by Russia since 2014.
Currently, Moscow controls almost all of Luhansk and 70% of the territory of Donetsk.
Speaking to journalists on the 12th of August, Zelensky denied that Ukraine could accept the demand to leave Donbas. Zelensky said that if Ukrainians leave Donbas now, it will open the gates for Russia to prepare an attack. The Ukrainian president has previously emphasized that he is not going to give land to the occupiers, and pointed out that the country’s constitution requires a referendum to be held before changing borders.
The White House has said the Alaska talks will put Trump and Putin in the same room, and the US president could best understand how to end the war. Trump described the meeting on the 11th of August as an attempt to understand the mood, thus dampening expectations that the meeting between the leaders of the two countries could be a step closer to peace. This contradicts statements last week, in which Trump sounded confident that the meeting in Alaska would lead to peace.
Zelensky, for his part, has again expressed concerns that the talks could bring a positive outcome for Kiev. The Ukrainian president has avoided directly criticizing Trump, but tensions over being left out of peace talks continue to grow, and on the 12th of August Zelensky said that meeting with Trump is a personal victory for Putin. Thus, Putin will finally end his isolation, because the Americans are meeting with him on their territory. Zelensky also added that
any decisions made without Ukraine’s participation would lead to a dead end.
A virtual meeting between Zelensky and Trump, European Union leaders, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is scheduled for the 13th of August. All involved will try to convince Trump that the hastily arranged meeting should not be dominated by Putin’s tactics.
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