Ukraine will reject any offer from Russia to cede the Donbas area in return for a truce, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, who also warned that the territory might be used as a launching pad for more attacks.
Zelensky was commenting in advance of Friday’s summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Alaska. A “some swapping of territories” will be part of any peace agreement, according to Trump, and it is thought that one of Putin’s demands is that Kyiv give up the Donbas areas it still holds.
In the meantime, Russian forces have persisted in their summer onslaught, launching an unexpected advance close to the eastern town of Dobropillia and quickly moving 10 kilometers (six miles) forward. Zelensky acknowledged that the advance had occurred in “several spots,” but he also promised that Kyiv would soon eliminate the attacking battalions.
While downplaying Russia’s gains, he said it was “clear to us” that Moscow wanted to establish a “certain information space” that “Russia is moving forward, advancing, while Ukraine is losing” before Putin meets with Trump.
Regarding what requests Vladimir Putin would make during his Friday meeting with Donald Trump in Anchorage, no formal information has surfaced. Since 2014, Russia has partially occupied the Donbas, which are the eastern areas of Luhansk and Donetsk.
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