President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a warning on Saturday after Washington and Moscow agreed to attend a conference in an attempt to stop the war: Ukraine will not cede land to Russia in exchange for peace.
Despite warnings from Ukraine and Europe that Kyiv must be included in negotiations, Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet in the US state of Alaska next Friday in an attempt to end the three-year conflict.
Trump stated, without providing further details, that “there’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” parties when he announced the summit on Friday.
Hours later, Zelensky said on social media: “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.
“Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace,” he added. “They will achieve nothing.”
The war “cannot be ended without us, without Ukraine”, he said.
Zelensky urged Ukraine’s allies to take “clear steps” towards achieving a sustainable peace, during a call with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
National security advisors from Kyiv’s allies — including the United States, EU nations and the UK — gathered in Britain Saturday to align their views ahead of the Putin-Trump summit.
After speaking with Zelensky, Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the phone, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that “the future of Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukrainians” and that Europe must participate in the talks.
US Vice President JD Vance, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, top Zelensky assistant Andriy Yermak, and European national security experts were all received by UK Foreign Secretary Lammy.
“The UK’s support for Ukraine remains ironclad as we continue working towards a just and lasting peace,” Lammy wrote on X on Saturday.
In his evening address Saturday, Zelensky stressed: “There must be an honest end to this war, and it is up to Russia to end the war it started.”
