Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday dismissed the idea of ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia, after US President Donald Trump suggested a potential peace deal could involve “some swapping of territories.”
“Ukraine will not give land to the occupier,” Zelenskyy said, adding his country “will not give Russia any awards for what it has done.” He stressed that what is needed is “not a pause in the killings, but a real, lasting peace immediately.”
The comments came as European and Ukrainian officials met US Vice President JD Vance in England to discuss ways to end the more than three-year war. Representatives from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, and Poland attended the talks in Kent, which Zelenskyy described as constructive.
“I have not heard any partners express doubts about America’s ability to ensure that the war ends,” he posted on X, adding that Ukraine has supported all of Trump’s ceasefire proposals since February.
Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy dismissed the planned Trump-Putin summit, scheduled for August 15 in Alaska, warning that negotiations to end Europe’s largest conflict since World War II must include Kyiv. “Any decisions that are without Ukraine are dead decisions. They will never work,” he said.
According to the Associated Press, Ukrainian officials have acknowledged that Kyiv may be open to a deal effectively recognising its inability to regain all lost territories by military means.
TRUMP-PUTIN MEETING
The Trump-Putin meeting is expected to be a high-profile diplomatic event. Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, called Alaska “a logical” location for such a significant summit, given its position between the United States and Russia. The meeting will be Trump’s first encounter with Putin since returning to the presidency, and Putin’s first US visit in a decade, his last being in 2015 for the UN General Assembly in New York.
According to the State Department, Putin’s first trip to the US as Russia’s leader was in 2000 to meet President Bill Clinton at the UN Millennium Summit. The Alaska meeting will mark his eighth US visit as president.
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