Zelenskyy on territorial concessions: If Ukraine "eats what is put on plate," rest will be decided without us
If Ukraine agrees to a poor territorial solution, the remaining issues regarding the end of the war will be resolved without Kyiv.
President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists about this after talks with US President Donald Trump, according to Censor.NET, citing "Hromadske".
"It is clear from our negotiations that if Ukraine 'eats what is put on the plate', that is, accepts a poor territorial solution, then they will try to resolve everything else without us. For example, in our conversation about (the ceasefire regime. - Ed.), they again repeated the Russian story that we are supposedly preparing for an offensive, that we cannot be given a pause. I said, ‘I just don't quite understand how we will violate the security guarantees signed with you if we have a real end to the war?’" Zelenskyy said.
Russia demands Ukraine to give up Donbas
After a personal conversation with dictator Vladimir Putin, Trump told Zelenskyy that Russia was demanding that Ukraine relinquish the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. According to Zelenskyy, this demand is an attempt by Putin to demonstrate that he has won the war.
Will Ukraine agree?
However, Ukraine's position on this issue has not changed: Kyiv will not recognise Ukrainian territories as part of Russia. According to Zelenskyy, he conveyed this position to Trump, who listened to it.
What preceded it?
Earlier, media reported that Witkoff pressured the Ukrainian delegation to transfer Donetsk Oblast to Russia, arguing that the region is "predominantly Russian-speaking". As a reminder, The Washington Post also reported that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, during a conversation with US President Donald Trump, demanded that Ukraine give up the Donetsk region. In exchange for full control over Donetsk Oblast, he was allegedly ready to give up the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts.
