‘Will Not Leave’: Zelenskyy Rejects Donbas Withdrawal Proposal Ahead of Alaska Summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has firmly rejected a proposal — reportedly backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump — for Kyiv to withdraw from the remaining 30% of Donetsk region under its control as part of a ceasefire agreement.
Speaking ahead of the high-profile Alaska summit between Trump and Putin on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that conceding the territory would effectively hand Moscow control over nearly all of Donbas, a long-coveted target for the Kremlin.
According to Zelenskyy, the proposal was relayed by US officials after Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin. “Putin probably wants us to leave Donbas. It did not sound like America wants us to leave,” he said in a press briefing in Kyiv.
He stressed that Ukraine would not give up the region, describing it as a crucial defensive stronghold safeguarding central cities such as Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv. “We will not leave Donbas. We cannot do it. For Russians, Donbas is a springboard for a future new offensive,” he asserted.
Zelenskyy added that no proposal so far had offered guarantees against renewed Russian aggression. He also accused Putin of seeking to dominate Ukraine because “he does not want a sovereign Ukraine.”
Reports indicate Russia’s demand would require Ukraine to relinquish around 9,000 sq km of Donetsk territory. Trump, for his part, has suggested both sides will need to cede land to end the war. Speaking to reporters, he said, “There’ll be some land swapping going on… we’re going to try to get some of that territory back.”
European leaders and Zelenskyy are expected to engage with Trump before his meeting with Putin, amid concerns Washington might push Kyiv into accepting unfavourable peace terms. While Trump has recently toughened his stance towards Moscow — allowing more US weapons to Ukraine and threatening tariffs on buyers of Russian oil — apprehensions remain in Europe over the possibility of major territorial concessions being forced on Kyiv.
