Image Credentials: Image Title: Zelensky Insists Ukraine Must Be Part of Any Peace Deal Ahead of Trump-Putin Talks Source: (sora.chatgpt) Date: July 2025 Attribution: Created by AI-generated imagery (sora.chatgpt), it does not depict a real-world scene.
By Open Chronicle News Staff with Agencies
Kyiv – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has firmly rejected the idea of making territorial concessions to Russia, warning that any peace agreement excluding Ukraine would be “against peace.” His comments come just days before a scheduled meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15 to discuss the war’s future.
The stance follows remarks from Trump suggesting that ending the war could involve “some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both.” The US president’s comments, made at the White House on Friday, revived long-standing concerns in Kyiv and among European allies that Washington and Moscow might seek a settlement without Ukraine’s direct participation.
Zelensky, writing on Telegram, stressed that “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier” and that Ukraine’s constitution already contains the answer to the territorial question. “No one will and cannot deviate from this,” he wrote, adding that Ukraine would not “give Russia awards for what it has done.”
Zelenskyy just REJECTED Trump’s so-called peace deal that would force Ukraine to give up land to Russia without their consent. Ukraine must decide its own future. Not Trump. pic.twitter.com/LYKhWI7FNe
— European Union club (@TheEuropeanUC) August 9, 2025
“Any solutions that are against us, any solutions that are without Ukraine, are simultaneously solutions against peace,” Zelensky said. “We are ready, together with President Trump, together with all partners, to work for a real and lasting peace, a peace that will not collapse because of Moscow’s wishes.”
The war, now in its fourth year since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, has claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides. Trump has given Moscow multiple deadlines to agree to a ceasefire, threatening tougher sanctions, but his most recent deadline passed without consequences. Reports suggest he may still propose that Ukraine give up some territory in exchange for a ceasefire when he meets Putin next week.
CBS News, citing a senior White House official, reported that there is still a possibility Zelensky could be involved in the Alaska meeting, though planning remains fluid.
On the front lines and in Ukrainian cities, there is a widespread longing for peace but little appetite for a settlement that would mean relinquishing land. Many Ukrainians see such a compromise as rewarding Russian aggression, undermining their sovereignty, and betraying those who have fought and died to defend the country.
Zelensky’s latest statement underscores his commitment to a peace process that includes Ukraine as a full participant and rejects any deal imposed from outside. With Trump and Putin set to meet in less than a week, tensions are rising over whether Ukraine will have a seat at the table or find its future decided without its consent.
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