Zelenskyy rejects Putin’s ‘proposal’ to hand Russia eastern Ukraine for ceasefire
Ukraine’s president has stated Vladimir Putin wants the rest of Donetsk – and in effect the entire Donbas – as part of a ceasefire plan.
Kyiv controls around 30%, or 9,000 sq km, of Donetsk, which is located in Ukraine’s east, Zelenskyy stated.
It borders Russia and creates up the region known as the Donbas along with the neighbouring Luhansk region, of which Moscow controls 99%.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated Ukraine would reject the proposal.
He explained that such a relocate would deprive Kyiv of defensive lines and open the way for Moscow to conduct further offensives.
Ukraine’s so-called fortress belt runs along the frontline it holds in Donetsk, which experts at the Institute for the Study of War have stated would take Russia years of bloody fighting to penetrate.
The western borders between Donetsk and the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions are more vulnerable, however, including much open terrain.
Zelenskyy also notified reporters that territorial issues should be discussed after Russia agrees to a ceasefire, and that security guarantees for Ukraine should form an integral part of that discussion.
Speaking on Russia’s push in the east of Ukraine (see our 15.10 post), Zelenskyy stated the relocate has been timed to coincide with Putin’s talks with Donald Trump.
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