Ukraine’s Zelensky calls Trump summit in Alaska a ‘personal victory’ for Putin
The president also ruled out withdrawing from Donbas as part of a peace deal, after Trump suggested a land swap may be needed to end the war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had scored a “personal victory” by getting invited to talks with Donald Trump on US soil, and that the meeting further delayed sanctions on Moscow.
Zelensky also ruled out withdrawing troops from Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region as part of a peace deal, after Trump suggested he and Putin might negotiate a land swap to end the war.
The summit, set to take place in Alaska on Friday, will be the first between a sitting US and Russian president since 2021 and comes as Trump seeks to broker an end to Russia’s nearly 3½-year invasion of Ukraine.
Zelensky, who is not scheduled to take part, has expressed concern that Russia will put forward hardline demands and that Trump will hammer out a deal that will see Ukraine cede swathes of territory.
“We will not withdraw from 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,” Zelensky told reporters.
The Donbas encompasses the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, both of which Russia claims as its own and has sought to control since its invasion began in 2022.