Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed that Ukraine will not cede any of its territories to Russia.
He stated this ahead of a planned meeting between the U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin next week.
In a post on Telegram, Zelensky warned that “any solutions without Ukraine will be solutions against peace,” rejecting suggestions that territorial concessions could form part of a deal to end the war.
Similarly, in a separate video message on X, Zelensky stressed that Ukraine “will not reward Russia for what it has perpetrated.”
“This war must be brought to an end — and Russia must end it. Russia started it and is dragging it out, ignoring all deadlines, and that is the problem, not something else,” Zelensky said.
Nevertheless, Zelensky signalled openness to work with Trump “together with all our partners” for a “real” peace.
The statement comes hours after Trump confirmed he would meet Putin in Alaska on Friday, August 15, to discuss the conflict.
Trump signalled that “some swapping of territories” could be part of an eventual peace agreement.
“We are looking to actually get some back and some swapping. It is complicated, nothing easy. We are going to get some back, some switched,” he told reporters.
In a later post on Truth Social, Trump called the meeting “highly anticipated” and promised further details soon.
The Kremlin has also confirmed that Putin will attend the meeting.
According to CBS News, the White House is lobbying European leaders to accept a proposal under which Ukraine would relinquish control of Crimea and the entire Donbas region, including Donetsk and Luhansk, in exchange for Russia’s withdrawal from the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Putin had outlined a similar plan to Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff.
