Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has publicly and firmly opposed the idea of giving up the Donbas region to Russia. He has rejected any talk of trading territory just days before a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy explained that losing Donbas would not just be a political compromise but a major strategic mistake that would make it easier for Russia to attack again in the future.
According to Politico, during a recent conversation with reporters in Kyiv, the Ukrainian leader was very clear in his refusal to surrender the region. He said, “We will not leave Donbas. We cannot do this. Donbas for the Russians is a springboard for a future new offensive. If today we leave Donbas, from our fortifications, from our reliefs, from the heights that we control, we will clearly open a bridgehead for preparing an offensive by the Russians. In a few years, Putin will have an open path to both the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro regions. And not only that. Also to Kharkiv.”
Zelenskyy essentially warned that Ukraine would be creating a new pathway for Russia to invade later. He specifically said that this would put regions like Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and Kharkiv at risk of being attacked within a few years.
Zelenskyy isn’t giving up land, no matter what Trump thinks
The upcoming meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents in Alaska is meant to discuss a possible ceasefire in the current war. Trump recently said that any peace agreement would probably involve some “land swapping” between the two countries, though he did not say exactly which areas might be included. He mentioned that if a deal seemed fair, he would propose it to leaders of the European Union, NATO, and Ukraine’s president, but he also left open the possibility of advising Kyiv to keep fighting.
Behind the scenes, U.S. officials have unofficially hinted that Ukraine could give up Donbas in exchange for Russia stopping its attacks in the south. Zelenskyy immediately rejected the idea of trading territory, calling it an oversimplified “real estate deal.”
"Zelenskyy has made it crystal clear: no land swaps and no exceptions. Yet Ukraine — the country that didn’t ask for this war and has fought to stay alive — isn’t even at the table. That’s not diplomacy, it’s authoritarian theater."
— Oy Vey (@BW1899) August 12, 2025
He emphasized that the issue of land cannot be separated from the need for strong security promises for Ukraine. Without those guarantees, he argued, giving up the territory would only provide Russia with a new base for future aggression. He pointed out that the land in question, about 9,000 square kilometers, or roughly 30 percent of the Donetsk region, was not his personal property to hand over.
Zelenskyy ended with, “The state is what, private property? 30 percent of the Donetsk region is what, my private property? Or yours? Or someone else’s? The exchange of territories is a very complex issue that cannot be separated from security guarantees for Ukraine, for our sovereign state and our people.”
