Trump conveyed Putin's Donetsk demand to Zelenskyy after meet, he refused: Report

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected a reported proposal from Russian President Vladimir Putin to freeze front-line positions in exchange for Ukraine surrendering full control of Donetsk, according to a Reuters report. The proposal was conveyed during a private briefing with US President Donald Trump.

Trump, speaking after a meet with Putin in Alaska on Friday, said Ukraine should agree to a peace deal with Russia, adding, “Russia is a very big power, and they’re not.” The Alaska meeting marked the first US-Russia summit since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022 and lasted three hours.

According to the source, Trump told Zelenskyy that



Putin’s offer included halting advances if Ukraine withdrew from Donetsk, a region largely under Russian control since 2014. Russia currently occupies about 20% of Ukrainian territory, including most of Donetsk province.

Trump also reportedly said he and Putin agreed that any peace deal should move forward without a prior ceasefire, a condition Ukraine and its European allies have long insisted on, which until now had US backing.

"It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up," Trump posted on Truth Social.