Donald Trump said that during his talks with Volodymyr Zelensky, the idea of handing over Donbas to Russia was “never discussed.” According to him, the talks were only about freezing hostilities along the current front line.
Earlier, The Washington Post reported that Vladimir Putin allegedly proposed to Trump ending the war in exchange for parts of the occupied Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
Meanwhile, Financial Times claimed that Trump echoed Putin’s talking points and urged Zelensky to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Donbas, warning that otherwise Russia could “destroy” Ukraine
The President of Ukraine revealed that it was U.S. Special Envoy Witkoff who brought up the idea of Ukraine giving up Donbas during their meeting in Washington.
Zelensky responded firmly, saying that Russia’s so-called “referendums” were a farce conducted after the occupation. “The Russians claim they held a vote among ‘their people,’ but between the invasion and that so-called ‘referendum,’ ten years passed,” he said.
When Witkoff referred to the fact that the results of these “referendums” were written into Russia’s Constitution, Zelensky replied: “If tomorrow Putin adds something else there — are we supposed to give it up again? And if I add two Russian regions to Ukraine’s Constitution, will they withdraw from those territories?”