Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has once again made it clear that he will not give up any Ukrainian land to Russia.
This comes just days before Donald Trump is slated to meet with Vladimir Putin to talk about the war that is still going on. The conference, which will take place in Alaska on Friday, August 15, is anticipated to focus on finding a way to end the conflict, which is now in its third year.
Trump has frequently called for an end to fighting between Ukraine and Russia, but he is frustrated that the Kremlin is not willing to have real talks.
He has said in the past that if Putin doesn’t make progress toward a settlement, the US should impose heavier sanctions on Russia and secondary tariffs on countries who keep buying Russian oil. Even if things are tense, Trump still believes that his future conversations with the Russian leader could lead to a solution.
ITV says that there are still fears that if an agreement isn’t reached, the war could get worse, which could make the region less stable and lead to a larger global battle.
Zelenskyy told reporters on August 12 that Ukraine would not give up any of its remaining land in the eastern Donbas region, which Russia still partially occupies. Reports say that the Kremlin has asked for this kind of disengagement as part of a possible ceasefire accord.
Zelenskyy strongly turned down the suggestion, saying it was unacceptable and unsafe. We are not leaving Donbas. We can’t do this. He said, through The Guardian, that everyone forgets the first part: our territories are illegally occupied. The Russians see Donbas as a place to launch a new attack in the future.
The president of Ukraine further said that handing up any land would just make Moscow stronger and give them chances to attack again in the future. His statements are far different from what Trump said previously, when he said that a peace deal might involve some land swaps.
Zelenskyy said again on Telegram on August 9 that Ukraine’s position is not up for discussion. The constitution of Ukraine already has the answer to the question of its territory. No one will and no one can go against it. He said that Ukrainians would not cede their territory to the occupier. He went on to say that any solutions that didn’t include Ukraine would be “solutions against peace” and wouldn’t work in the end. They won’t bring anything. He argued that they are dead answers and will never work.
NBC News says that early reports said Trump was thinking about inviting Zelenskyy to the Alaska talks, but the White House has verified that the event is still just a Trump-Putin summit for now.
A White House official said that the President is still open to a meeting with both leaders. The White House is currently working on setting up the meeting that President Putin asked for.
As the meeting in Alaska gets closer, the world will be watching intently to see if Trump can get Putin to make concessions or if Zelenskyy’s uncompromising stance will collide with whatever compromises that are talked about in private.