Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine will not accept to give in to give the Donbass, denying any indiscretion on a possible retreat. The declaration came on the eve of the Anchorage summit, in Alaska, where Donald Trump met the Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday. Zelensky explained: «We will not retire from Donbass. If we retire from Donbass today, we would clearly open the road to the Russians to prepare an offensive. ” The Ukrainian president stressed that the Russian army is preparing for attacks on several fronts, in particular in Zaporizhzia, Pokrovsk and Novopavlvka.
The long phone call between Trump and Zelensky: trilateral on the horizon
After the top in Alaska, Volodymyr Zelensky had a long telephone conversation with Donald Trump. The interview lasted more than an hour and a half, of which about an hour dedicated to a bilateral discussion on the results of the meeting with Putin. Zelensky said: «On Monday I will meet President Trump in Washington DC, to discuss all the details relating to the end of the killings and war. I am grateful for the invitation ». During the phone call, both talked about Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, United States and Russia. Zelensky highlighted the importance of this format to discuss key issues at the level of leader.
The phone call was not easy. Meanwhile, because after the summit in Alaska, Trump seems to have married the Moscow line on the ceasefire. If before the summit, the US President had hoped for the cessation of the bombings “immediately”, now agrees with Putin on the need to seek a “overall” peace pact. Which, of course, extends the fighting.
According to Axios, then, Trump would have told Zelensky that Putin is convinced that he can take the entire Donetsk region and the other areas, including Donbass. For the Ukrainian president it is a lie, but the field situation remains decidedly difficult to decipher. “‘Impression – he told Axios a source – is that in exchange for the territories, Putin is ready to end the war” and put – in writing – the will “not to occupy other areas in Ukraine, as well as not to attack other countries”. According to the Financial Times, Putin would have asked for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk.
The European Union, Meloni and the position on Kiev
During the phone call between Trump, Zelensky and European leaders, the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also participated. EU leaders have confirmed that nobody will be able to veto on Kiev’s adhesion to the European Union and born. Meloni commented: “Finally a glimmer for peace”. During the connection, the priority for Europe remains support for Kiev and the guarantee of safety for Ukraine. The United States and European partners reiterated the coordination of their positions on the situation in the country.
Safety for Ukraine: the aerial defense issue
During the meetings and phone calls followed at the summit, Zelensky and Trump discussed the theme of Ukrainian defense in depth, especially the air defense. In the last few days, Washington had interrupted some deliveries of weapons in Kiev. After their interview, Trump promised a new American commitment to strengthen Ukrainian aerial defense. Zelensky described the conversation as “very important and profitable” and added: “We will work together to defend our skies”. The theme of the joint production of armaments remained central in the discussion.
Kiev’s requests and the strategy on security guarantees
Zelensky underlined the need that Europe is driving the search for security guarantees for Ukraine, as Trump himself had proposed. The American president, during the flight to anchorage, had declared that it is Europe that “will have to take the guide”, excluding, however, that these guarantees pass from the entrance under the NATO umbrella. During the phone call, Ukraine reiterated its willingness to work in a coordinated way with the United States and Europe.
The points that remained open and the role of the negotiations
Moscow claims that Kiev would be organizing a provocation to stop Russian-American negotiations. Zelensky instead insists that it is impossible to decide of Ukraine without Ukraine. On the front lines, the Russians broke through the defense in some areas of the Donetsk between Dobropillia and Kramatorsk, but Zelensky ensures that the advanced units will be stopped, explaining that some Russian soldiers have already been taken prisoners.
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