‘Will not give even an inch of land to Russia…,' declares Ukrainian President before Trump-Putin summit, Will Zelenskyy not let peace agreement happen?
US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15 and is expected to again mediate to stop the war in Ukraine. But just two days before that, the President of Ukraine has clearly said that 'there will be no land deal with Russia under any circumstances.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also refused to withdraw Ukrainian troops from areas under Kiev's control in Donbass.
Interestingly, Donbass is a part of Ukraine, a large part of which has now been occupied by Russia and a part is still under the control of Ukraine. Whereas Russian President Vladimir wants to capture the entire Donbass, because this area is very important strategically.
What Zelenskyy said?
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said, 'We will not leave Donbass… We cannot do this. Everyone forgets the main issue that our territories are illegally occupied.' He further said, 'Giving Russia land in Donbass will give it an opportunity to start a new war in the next few years and penetrate even deeper into Ukraine.' That is why he has rejected the possibility of any kind of land exchange agreement with Russia. After which the chances of a result coming out of the meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska have diminished considerably.
Zelenskyy said that 'if they gift about 9,000 square kilometers, i.e. 30% of the Donetsk region, to Russia right now, it will become a launchpad for their new aggression.'
Why Zelenskyy rejected Trump's land swap offer?
Zelenskyy's statement comes after repeated remarks by US President Donald Trump, in which he has made land swap the basis for a peace agreement. Quoting RT, Trump said on Monday that 'They (Russia) have occupied some very important areas. We will try to get some part of that area back to Ukraine.'
Russia has continuously tried to establish control over the Luhansk (LPR) and Donetsk (DPR) People's Republics, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. In 2022, Russia held a referendum in these areas and on that basis declared these areas as part of Russia.
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