&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'His personal victory': Zelensky says Trump-Putin meet is a win for Russia - Here's why")
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticised the decision to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks with Donald Trump in the United States, calling it a “personal victory” for Moscow’s leader. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Zelensky ruled out withdrawing troops from the eastern Donbas region as part of any peace deal. His remarks came after Trump floated the idea of negotiating a land swap with Putin to end the conflict.
“We will not withdraw from the Donbas… if we withdraw from the Donbas today, our fortifications, our terrain, the heights we control, we will clearly open a bridgehead for the Russians to prepare an offensive,” Zelensky said. The Donbas covers the eastern Ukrainian regions of Lugansk and Donetsk, both claimed by Russia since its full-scale invasion began in 2022.
Summit in Alaska raises concerns in Kyiv
Friday’s meeting in Alaska will mark the first encounter between a sitting US and Russian president since 2021. Trump has pitched it as an effort to broker peace in a war that has lasted nearly three and a half years. Zelensky, who has not been invited to the talks, fears Russia will present hard-line demands and that Trump might agree to terms that would see Ukraine surrender large areas of territory.
He also said the summit would delay new US sanctions on Moscow, measures Trump had previously pledged to impose if Putin refused to end the war. “First, he will meet on US territory, which I consider his personal victory. Second, he is coming out of isolation because he is meeting on US territory. Third, with this meeting, he has somehow postponed sanctions,” Zelensky said.
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Possible signal of a ceasefire
Zelensky revealed he had received what he called a “signal” from US envoy Steve Witkoff suggesting Russia might be open to a ceasefire, though he did not give details. “This was the first signal from them,” he added.
US and Russia prepare for talks
Ahead of the summit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rubio told a US radio programme that Trump did not view the meeting as a “concession” to Russia. The White House confirmed that the talks were arranged after Putin requested them. Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the goal was “for the president to walk away with a better understanding of how we can end this war”.
