Ukrainians will reject any peace deal that hands Donbas to Russia – Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukrainians will not accept a peace deal that involves Ukraine's unilateral withdrawal from Donbas and its handover to Russia.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with US digital news outlet Axios

Details: Zelenskyy said the best way to make a breakthrough on territory is a face-to-face meeting with the Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. He said he had instructed his team to discuss a future leaders' meeting in Geneva.

Zelenskyy said he is ready to discuss troop withdrawals, but has called on Moscow to pull its forces back by an equivalent distance and has rejected Russia's claims of sovereignty over the area.

He also added that Washington and Kyiv have agreed that any deal must be put to a referendum of the Ukrainian people.

However, if an agreement means Ukraine simply withdraws from Donbas, sacrificing its sovereignty and the citizenship of the people who live there, he believes it would be rejected.

Zelenskyy said that emotionally the people will not forgive the Ukrainian authorities or international partners for abandoning the citizens and land.

Quote: "This is part of our country, all these citizens, the flag, the land."

More details: Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said he believes that Ukrainians would accept a deal that freezes the current front line in Donbas.

Russia, however, insists it will take all of Donbas either through talks or by force. Resolving this issue in a way acceptable to both sides is the main priority for US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner in this week's peace talks.

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