“`html
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that Ukraine would reject any Russian proposal that involves ceding the Donbas region in exchange for a ceasefire. He warned that such an agreement could serve as a staging ground for future offensives.
Zelensky’s remarks come ahead of a scheduled meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska on Friday.
President Trump has suggested that any potential peace agreement might necessitate “some swapping of territories.” It is believed that one of President Putin’s key demands is that Kyiv relinquish control of the portions of the Donbas region it currently holds.
Concurrently, Russian forces have continued their summer offensive, executing a rapid advance near the eastern town of Dobropillia, gaining 10km (six miles) in a short period.
President Zelensky acknowledged the Russian advance in “several spots,” but asserted that Ukrainian forces would soon eliminate the units involved in the offensive.
While downplaying the significance of Russia’s recent gains, he stated, “It is clear to us” that Moscow’s objective is to create a “certain information space” ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting, portraying “Russia as moving forward, advancing, while Ukraine is losing.”
Official details regarding the demands Vladimir Putin might present to Donald Trump during their meeting in Anchorage on Friday have not been disclosed.
The Donbas region, comprising the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, has been partially occupied by Russia since 2014.
Moscow currently controls nearly all of Luhansk and approximately 70% of Donetsk. However, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, President Zelensky reiterated Ukraine’s stance against any proposal to surrender the Donbas.
“If we withdraw from the Donbas today – our fortifications, our terrain, the heights we control – we will clearly open a bridgehead for the Russians to prepare an offensive,” he stated.
President Zelensky has previously emphasized that Ukrainians would not “gift their land to the occupier,” and referred to the country’s constitution, which mandates a referendum before any territorial changes.
In his nightly address on Tuesday, Zelensky also indicated that Moscow is preparing new offensives in three areas along the front line: Zaporizhzhia, Pokrovsk, and Novopavlov.
Last week, President Trump suggested there could be “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” Russia and Ukraine – a statement that sparked concern in Kyiv and across Europe, raising fears that Moscow might be allowed to forcibly redraw Ukraine’s borders.
Russia currently controls just under 20% of Ukrainian territory.
The White House stated on Tuesday that the Alaska talks would serve as a “listening exercise” for President Trump, adding that having both leaders in the same room would provide the U.S. president with “the best indication on how to end this war.”
This follows President Trump’s description of the summit as a “feel-out meeting” on Monday, seeming to lower expectations that Friday’s meeting would bring Ukraine and Russia closer to a peaceful resolution.
When he announced the summit last week, President Trump expressed optimism that the meeting could produce concrete steps toward peace.
“I think my gut instinct really tells me that we have a shot at it,” he said.
However, Ukrainian President Zelensky has once again expressed significant doubts that the talks could lead to a positive outcome for Kyiv, which has been excluded from the summit. “I don’t know what they will talk about without us,” he stated.
President Zelensky has refrained from directly criticizing President Trump, but in recent days, his frustration at being sidelined has become evident. On Tuesday, he suggested that the choice of Alaska as the meeting location was a “personal victory” for President Putin.
“He is coming out of isolation, because they are meeting with him on US territory,” he said.
The Ukrainian leader has previously stated that any agreements reached without Kyiv’s involvement would be considered “dead decisions.”
On Wednesday, President Zelensky is scheduled to participate in a virtual meeting with President Trump, EU leaders, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and NATO chief Mark Rutte.
All parties will attempt to persuade President Trump of the need to resist being influenced by President Putin during their meeting at the hastily arranged summit.
Trump says he will meet with the Russian leader in the “great state of Alaska”.
The EU says “the people of Ukraine must have the freedom to decide their future”.
More than 50,000 North Koreans will be sent to work in Russia, as Moscow’s war in Ukraine drains labour pools.
The US president says talks with Putin on Friday will be a “feel-out meeting” aimed at urging Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
As things stand, there are no invites for the country being invaded, nor the continent it sits in, writes James Waterhouse.
“`