Ukraine will not give up land, Zelensky says as Trump plans to meet Putin
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukrainians "will not give their land to occupiers", hours after US President Donald Trump hinted at territorial concessions...
- Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukrainians "will not give their land to occupiers", hours after US President Donald Trump hinted at territorial concessions to end war with Russia
- Zelensky's comments come after Trump revealed he would meet Russia's President Vladimir Putin for talks on the Ukraine war in Alaska on Friday 15 August
- Zelensky says any solution without Ukraine would be "against peace"
- Putin's trip to the US would be his first face-to-face negotiations with Donald Trump since 2019
Moscow has failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough in its full-scale invasion since 2022, but occupies around 20% of Ukraine's territory - while Ukrainian offensives have not pushed the Russian forces backWe can bring you more now from the Volodymyr Zelensky, who says Ukraine will "not reward Russia for what it has perpetrated".
In a text and video statement released on social media platform X, Zelensky says:
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This war must be brought to an end - and Russia must end it. Russia started it and is dragging it out, ignoring all deadlines, and that is the problem, not something else."
Decisions made without Ukraine "will not achieve anything", he adds. "These are stillborn decisions. They are unworkable decisions."
Addressing the Trump-Putin meeting directly, Zelensky says the summit is taking place "very far away from this war, which is raging on our land, against our people, and which anyway can't be ended without us, without Ukraine."
- Zelensky says "we are ready to work with President Trump, together with all our partners" for a "real" peace.
Donald Trump has just confirmed he will meet Vladimir Putin "very shortly", and said that more details about the talks, including the location, will be released later.
He made the comments after a US-imposed deadline for the Russian president to agree to a ceasefire deal in Ukraine came and went without an announcement on Friday.
Trump told a press conference moments ago that a meeting with Putin would go ahead anyway. We'll bring you more details about where and when it will take place as soon as we hear more.
It follows a flurry of diplomatic activity around the Ukraine war in recent days. Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met Putin earlier this week, and the US president has spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the phone.
The White House is pushing hard for a deal to bring the conflict to an end - but it remains to be seen whether there are terms both sides can agree to.
Stick with us while we bring you the latest.
