Ukraine will not cede land to buy peace asserts zelenskyy

Ukraine will not cede land to buy peace asserts zelenskyy

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are set to meet on August 15 in Alaska; the Ukrainian leader says ‘any decision without us are also decisions against peace’.

Ukraine won’t surrender land to Russia to buy peace, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Saturday, after Washington and Moscow agreed to hold a summit in a bid to end the war.

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the U.S. State of Alaska on August 15, to try to resolve the three-year conflict, despite warnings from Ukraine and Europe that Kyiv must be part of negotiations.

Announcing the summit on Friday, Mr. Trump said that “there will be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” Ukraine and Russia, without providing further details.

“Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” Mr. Zelenskyy said on social media hours later.

“Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace. They will achieve nothing,” he said, adding that the war “cannot be ended without us, without Ukraine”.

Mr. Zelenskyy also urged Ukraine’s allies to take “clear steps” towards achieving a sustainable peace, during a call with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

National security advisors from Kyiv’s allies — including the U.S., EU nations and the U.K. — were gathering in Britain on Saturday to align their views ahead of the Putin-Trump summit.

“It is truly important that the Russians do not succeed in deceiving anyone again,” Mr. Zelenskyy said after a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, without elaborating further.

Three rounds of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine this year have failed to bear fruit, and it remains unclear whether a summit could bring peace any closer as the warring sides’ positions are still far apart.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes.

Mr. Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire.

Mr. Zelenskyy said Kyiv was “ready for real decisions that can bring peace” but said it should be a “dignified peace”, without giving details.