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Zelensky warned Russian troops could use Donetsk as a springboard for a future invasion of Ukraine
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Vladimir Putin has demanded Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donetsk as part of any ceasefire deal potentially brokered by Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president said Mr Putin wanted the the remaining 30 per cent, or 3,500 square miles of the region, which has seen some of the fiercest fighting in the three-and-a-half-year-old war.
But Mr Zelensky vowed Ukraine would “never leave” the Donbas and warned Mr Putin’s troops could use it as a spring board for a future invasion.
“We will not leave Donbas. We cannot do this. Everyone forgets the first part – our territories are illegally occupied. Donbas for the Russians is a springboard for a future new offensive,” he said.
Mr Zelensky learned of Russia‘s position after holding a call with Mr Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff, after Mr Witkoff’s bilateral meeting with Mr Putin.
Mr Witkoff told Zelensky that Russia was ready to end the war and that there should be territorial concessions from both sides.
Mr Trump will meet the Russian leader in Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, on Friday, for what he described as “feel out” meeting.
Nato Secretary General will participate in a meeting between President Zelensky, President Trump, and European leaders on Wednesday, a spokesperson said.
In a statement, they wrote: “On Wednesday, 13 August 2025, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will participate in the virtual meetings of European leaders, the US and Ukraine, hosted by the Federal Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz to discuss Ukraine.”
Europe’s leaders must prepare their people for war with Moscow, says The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley.
“There should be no expectation that Trump will take the side of democratic pro-Western Ukraine over the dictator Putin on Friday – and the Europeans know that,” he writes. “That why they’re working very hard to make sure that Zelensky is at the summit too – and that he’s reinforced with the full force of European diplomacy if he’s allowed to attend.
“But it is military force that Europe needs to be able to show – not just as US taxpayer subsidies to European security are cut back by Trump, but right now.”
You can read his full analysis here.
Vladimir Putin has demanded Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donetsk as part of any ceasefire deal potentially brokered by Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president said Mr Putin wanted the the remaining 30 per cent, or 3,500 square miles of the region, which has seen some of the fiercest fighting in the three-and-a-half-year-old war.
But Mr Zelensky vowed Ukraine would “never leave” the Donbas and warned Mr Putin’s troops could use it as a spring board for a future invasion.
“We will not leave Donbas. We cannot do this. Everyone forgets the first part – our territories are illegally occupied. Donbas for the Russians is a springboard for a future new offensive,” he said.
Mr Zelensky learned of Russia’s position after holding a call with Mr Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff, after Mr Witkoff’s bilateral meeting with Putin.
Pictures show Russian leader Vladimir Putin chairing a meeting on economic issues at the Kremlin in Moscow on Tuesday.
It comes as Putin prepares to travel to Alaska to meet US President Donald Trump to discuss the war on Friday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said that the upcoming meeting between the two leaders will be a “listening exercise” for Trump.
She added that she is “very confident” the US president will remain optimistic after the summit in Anchorage in Alaska on Friday.
“Only one party that’s involved in this war is going to be present, so this is for the president to go and get a more firm understanding of how we can hopefully bring this war to an end.”
She said there are plans in the works for Trump to visit Russia in the future.
Taking questions from reporters, Karoline Leavitt was asked why Volodymyr Zelensky has not been invited to participate in the talks between the US and Russia.
“This meeting came about because the President of Russia asked the President of the United States to meet through his special envoy Steve Witkoff,” she says.
“The president is agreeing to this meeting at the request of President Putin.”
She added that the meeting was for Trump and Putin to walk away “with a better understanding” of how to end the war, and said that the US president had “deep respect for all parties”.
“This administration has really used every lever, has taken every measure to achieve peace through a diplomatic solution,” she adds.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet in Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, on Friday, the White House has confirmed.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt opened the news conference by saying: “President Trump is determined to try and end this war and stop the killing.
“As the president has said over and over again, his strong preference will always be for peace and partnership whenever those outcomes can be achieved.”
U.S. President Donald Trump will participate in virtual Ukraine talks on Wednesday ahead of his meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Friday, CNN reported, citing a White House official.
Germany said on Monday it was convening a series of top-level video conferences on Wednesday to prepare for the summit, including one at 1pm GMT between European leaders, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
Open source investigators DeepState have said Moscow is trying to exploit Kyiv’s lack of manpower.
“The situation is quite chaotic, as the enemy, having found gaps in the defence, is infiltrating deeper, trying to quickly consolidate and accumulate forces for further advancement,” DeepState said on its Telegram channel.
Later in the day, Ukraine confirmed reserves had been sent in to engage in “difficult” combat near the cities of Pokrovsk and Dobropillia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region that Ukraine controls as part of a ceasefire deal.
Zelensky said Russia’s position had been conveyed to him by U.S. officials ahead of a summit Friday between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska on the war in Ukraine.
Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine would not withdraw from territories it controls, saying that would be unconsitutional and would serve only as a springboard for a future Russian invasion.
It remained unclear whether Ukraine would take part in the Friday summit.
European Union also have been sidelined from the meeting, and they appealed to Trump on Tuesday to protect their interests.
Zelenskyy said at a news briefing in Kyiv that Putin wants the remaining 9,000 square kilometers (3,500 square miles) of Donetsk under Kyiv’s control, where the war’s toughest battles are grinding on, as part of a ceasefire plan.
He said the Russian position was conveyed to him by U.S. officials. Doing so would hand Russia almost the entirety of the Donbas, a region comprising Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland that Putin has long coveted.
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