Ukraine will not cede any territory to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Saturday hours after Washington and Moscow agreed to hold a summit in a bid to end the war.
Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the far-north U.S. state of Alaska, near Russia, on Aug. 15, to try to resolve the three-year conflict, despite multiple warnings from Ukraine and Europe that Kyiv must be part of the negotiations.
"Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier," Zelenskyy said in a video broadcast from the presidential office.
"The answer to the Ukrainian territorial question already is in the Constitution of Ukraine. No one will deviate from this," he emphasized.
"Ukraine is ready for real decisions that can bring peace. Any decisions that are against us, any decisions that are without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace," Zelensky said.
He described media reports of ceasefire plans between Putin and U.S. Trump involving territorial concessions as "stillborn decisions" and said they were unworkable.
According to the reports, Putin has demanded full Russian control over the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which Zelenskyy said would mean the surrender of thousands of square kilometres and strategically important cities.
In Washington, Trump spoke of "swapping" territory in a "very complicated" deal. He did not provide further details.
Zelensky noted that Alaska was very far away from the war raging in his country, stressing that the conflict could not be ended without the Ukrainians.
Ukraine has been warding off a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022.
