Putin wants rest of Ukraine’s Donetsk as part of ceasefire: Zelenskyy

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region that it controls as part of a ceasefire deal, a proposal the leader categorically rejected.

Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine would not withdraw from territories it controls, saying that would be unconstitutional and would serve only as a springboard for a future Russian invasion.

He said diplomatic discussions led by the U.S. focusing on ending the war have not touched on security guarantees for Ukraine to prevent future Russian aggression and that meeting formats currently being discussed do not include Europe’s participation, both key demands of Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Russian forces on the ground have been closing in on a key territorial grab around the city of Pokrovsk.

Zelenskyy said the necessity of territorial concessions was conveyed to him by U.S. officials ahead of a summit Friday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and in further meetings at the level of national security officials.

It remained unclear whether Ukraine would take part in the Friday summit. European Union leaders also have been sidelined from the meeting, and they appealed to Trump on Tuesday to protect their interests.

Zelenskyy says Ukraine will not withdraw from the Donbas

Zelenskyy said Putin wants the remaining 3,500 square miles of Donetsk under Kyiv’s control, where the war’s toughest battles are grinding on, as part of a ceasefire plan, in a press briefing on Tuesday in Kyiv.

Doing so would hand Russia almost the entirety of the Donbas, a region comprising Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland that Putin has long coveted.

Zelenskyy learned of Russia’s position after holding a call with Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff, after the latter’s bilateral meeting with Putin. Witkoff told Zelenskyy that Russia was ready to end the war and that there should be territorial concessions from both sides. Some European partners were also part of the call.

“And that, probably, Putin wants us to leave Donbas. That is, it didn’t sound like America wants us to leave,” he said, recounting the call.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a press conference during his visit to Vienna, Austria, on June 16. (Heinz-Peter Bader/AP)

Zelenskyy reiterated that withdrawing from Ukraine-controlled territory was out of the question, especially as the question of security guarantees for Ukraine, were not being discussed.

“We will not leave Donbas. We cannot do this. Everyone forgets the first part — our territories are illegally occupied,” Zelenskyy told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday. “Donbas for the Russians is a springboard for a future new offensive.”

Zelenskyy said this is what occurred in 2014 when Russia illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula.

Seeking Trump’s ear before the summit

Trump has said he wants to see whether Putin is serious about ending the war , now in its fourth year.

The U.S. president has disappointed allies in Europe by saying Ukraine will have to give up some Russian-held territory. He also said Russia must accept land swaps, although it was unclear what Putin might be expected to surrender.

The Europeans and Ukraine are wary that Putin, who has waged the biggest land war in Europe since 1945 and used Russia’s energy might to try to intimidate the EU, might secure favorable concessions and set the outlines of a peace deal without them.

Referring to the format for ceasefire talks, Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that the U.S. proposed a bilateral meeting, between the U.S. and Russia, and then a trilateral meeting that would include Ukraine. Zelenskyy said the presence of Europe was important for Kyiv because these were the only partners offering security guarantees, including funding the Ukrainian army.

European countries’ overarching fear is that Putin will set his sights on one of them next if he wins in Ukraine.

Their leaders said Tuesday they “welcome the efforts of President Trump towards ending Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.” But, they underlined, “the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine” and “international borders must not be changed by force.”

The Europeans on Wednesday will make a fresh attempt to rally Trump to Ukraine’s cause at virtual meetings convened by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Trump did not confirm whether he would take part but did say “I’m going to get everybody’s ideas” before meeting with Putin.

Russia holds shaky control over four of the country’s regions, two in the country’s east and two in the south.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the chief of Zelenskyy’s office, said anything short of Russia’s strategic defeat would mean that any ceasefire deal would be on Moscow’s terms, erode international law and send a dangerous signal to the world.

A ‘profoundly alarming moment for Europe’

Trump’s seemingly public rehabilitation of Putin — a pariah in most of Europe — has unnerved Ukraine’s backers.

The summit in Alaska is a “profoundly alarming moment for Europe,” said Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

According to Gould-Davies, Putin might persuade Trump to try to end the war by “accepting Russian sovereignty” over parts of Ukraine, even beyond areas that it currently occupies. Trump also could ease or lift sanctions which are causing “chronic pain” to the Russian economy.

That would provoke a “really serious split in the transatlantic alliance,” he said.

The war isn’t about Russia’s territorial expansion but about Putin’s goal of subordinating Ukraine, which would create the opportunity to threaten other parts of Europe, Gould-Davies said.

It was unclear whether the Europeans also were unsettled by Trump mistakenly saying twice he would be traveling to Russia on Friday to meet Putin. The summit is taking place in the U.S. state of Alaska, which was colonized by Russia in the 18th century until Czar Alexander II sold it to the U.S. in 1867.

Tuesday’s European joint statement was meant to be a demonstration of unity. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is Putin’s closest ally in Europe and has tried to block EU support for Ukraine, was the only one of the bloc’s 27 leaders who refused to endorse it.

Russia closes in on Pokrovsk

Russia appeared closer to taking an important city in the Donetsk region, Pokrovsk.

Military analysts using open-source information to monitor the battles said the next 24-48 hours could be critical. Losing Pokrovsk would hand Russia an important victory ahead of the summit. It also would complicate Ukrainian supply lines to the Donetsk region, where the Kremlin has focused the bulk of military efforts.

“A lot will depend on availability, quantity and quality of Ukrainian reserves,” Pasi Paroinen, an analyst with the Finland-based Black Bird Group, wrote on social media late Monday.

Ukraine’s military said its forces are fending off Russian infantry units trying to infiltrate their defensive positions in the Donetsk region. The region’s Ukrainian military command on social media Monday acknowledged that the situation remains “difficult, unpleasant and dynamic.”

Elsewhere in Ukraine, a Russian missile attack on a military training facility left one soldier dead and 11 others wounded, the Ukrainian Ground Forces posted on social media.

Associated Press writer Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Emma Burrows in London contributed to this report. Cook reported from Brussels.

乌克兰基辅——乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基周二表示，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京希望乌克兰从其控制的顿涅茨克地区剩余的 30% 领土中撤出，作为停火协议的一部分，但这一提议遭到了泽连斯基的断然拒绝。

泽连斯基重申，乌克兰不会从其控制的领土撤军，称这样做违反宪法，只会成为俄罗斯未来入侵的跳板。

他表示，以美国为首的旨在结束战争的外交讨论尚未触及乌克兰的安全保障，以防止俄罗斯未来的侵略，而且目前正在讨论的会议形式也没有包括欧洲的参与，而这两点正是基辅的关键要求。

与此同时，俄罗斯地面部队正在逼近波克罗夫斯克市附近，意图夺取关键领土。

泽连斯基表示，在周五美国总统唐纳德·特朗普和俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京举行峰会之前，美国官员向他传达了领土让步的必要性，并在随后的国家安全官员会晤中也表达了同样的观点。

乌克兰是否会参加周五的峰会仍不明朗。欧盟领导人也被排除在会议之外，他们周二呼吁特朗普维护欧盟利益。

泽连斯基表示，乌克兰不会从顿巴斯撤军。

泽连斯基周二在基辅举行的新闻发布会上表示，作为停火计划的一部分，普京希望将顿涅茨克剩余的 3500 平方英里地区置于基辅的控制之下，那里是战争中最激烈的战斗持续的地方。

这样做将使俄罗斯几乎完全掌控顿巴斯地区，该地区是乌克兰东部的工业中心地带，也是普京长期以来梦寐以求的领土。

在特朗普和特使史蒂夫·维特科夫与普京举行双边会晤后，泽连斯基与维特科夫通了电话，了解了俄罗斯的立场。维特科夫告诉泽连斯基，俄罗斯准备结束战争，双方都应该做出领土让步。一些欧洲伙伴也参加了这次通话。

“而且，普京可能希望我们离开顿巴斯。也就是说，听起来美国并不希望我们离开，”他回忆起那通电话时说道。

6月16日，乌克兰总统泽连斯基在访问奥地利维也纳期间出席新闻发布会。（Heinz-Peter Bader/AP）

泽连斯基重申，从乌克兰控制的领土撤军是不可能的，尤其是在没有讨论乌克兰安全保障问题的情况下。

“我们不会离开顿巴斯。我们不能这样做。大家都忘了第一点——我们的领土被非法占领了，”泽连斯基周二在新闻发布会上对记者说。“对俄罗斯人来说，顿巴斯是未来发动新一轮攻势的跳板。”

泽连斯基表示，2014年俄罗斯非法吞并克里米亚半岛时，情况正是如此。

峰会前寻求特朗普的信任

特朗普曾表示，他想看看普京是否真心想要结束这场已经持续四年的战争。

美国总统表示乌克兰必须放弃部分俄罗斯控制的领土，此举令欧洲盟友感到失望。他还表示俄罗斯必须接受领土交换，但目前尚不清楚普京究竟需要放弃哪些领土。

欧洲人和乌克兰人担心，普京发动了自 1945 年以来欧洲规模最大的陆地战争，并利用俄罗斯的能源实力试图恐吓欧盟，他可能会在没有他们的情况下获得有利的让步并制定和平协议的框架。

泽连斯基周二在谈到停火谈判的形式时表示，美国提议先举行美俄双边会谈，然后再举行包括乌克兰在内的三方会谈。泽连斯基说，欧洲的参与对基辅至关重要，因为只有欧洲伙伴能够提供安全保障，包括为乌克兰军队提供资金。

欧洲各国最担心的是，如果普京在乌克兰获胜，下一个目标很可能就是他们中的一个。

他们的领导人周二表示，他们“欢迎特朗普总统为结束俄罗斯对乌克兰的侵略战争所做的努力”。但他们强调，“没有乌克兰，就无法决定乌克兰的和平之路”，而且“国际边界绝不能以武力改变”。

周三，欧洲各国将再次尝试争取特朗普支持乌克兰问题。此次线上会议由德国总理默茨召集。特朗普尚未确认是否会参加，但他表示，在与普京会晤之前，“我会听取大家的意见”。

俄罗斯对该国四个地区的控制并不稳固，其中两个位于东部，两个位于南部。

泽连斯基办公室主任顾问米哈伊洛·波多利亚克表示，任何不会导致俄罗斯战略失败的结果，都意味着任何停火协议都将以莫斯科的条件为准，这将削弱国际法，并向世界发出危险的信号。

“对欧洲而言，这是一个极其令人担忧的时刻”

特朗普公开为普京——这位在欧洲大部分地区被视为弃儿的人——进行“平反”，这让乌克兰的支持者感到不安。

伦敦国际战略研究所高级研究员奈杰尔·古尔德-戴维斯表示，阿拉斯加峰会是“欧洲极其令人担忧的时刻”。

古尔德-戴维斯认为，普京可能会说服特朗普接受俄罗斯对乌克兰部分地区的主权，甚至包括其目前占领的地区，以此来结束战争。特朗普也可能放松或取消对俄罗斯经济造成“长期痛苦”的制裁。

他说，那将引发“跨大西洋联盟的严重分裂”。

古尔德-戴维斯表示，这场战争并非关乎俄罗斯的领土扩张，而是普京实现其控制乌克兰的目标，这将为威胁欧洲其他地区创造机会。

目前尚不清楚欧洲人是否也对特朗普两次错误地声称他将于周五前往俄罗斯会见普京感到不安。此次峰会将在美国阿拉斯加州举行，该州在18世纪曾是俄罗斯的殖民地，直到1867年沙皇亚历山大二世将其出售给美国。

周二的欧洲联合声明旨在展现团结。但匈牙利总理欧尔班是欧盟27位领导人中唯一一位拒绝签署该声明的人。欧尔班是普京在欧洲最亲密的盟友，他曾试图阻止欧盟对乌克兰的支持。

俄罗斯逼近波克罗夫斯克

俄罗斯似乎离攻占顿涅茨克地区的一个重要城市波克罗夫斯克更近了一步。

利用公开信息监测战况的军事分析人士表示，未来24至48小时至关重要。如果俄罗斯失去波克罗夫斯克，将在峰会前取得一场重要胜利。此外，这将使乌克兰通往顿涅茨克地区的补给线更加复杂，而克里姆林宫已将大部分军事力量集中在该地区。

“很多因素将取决于乌克兰储量的可用性、数量和质量，”芬兰黑鸟集团的分析师帕西·帕罗宁周一晚些时候在社交媒体上写道。

乌克兰军方表示，其部队正在击退试图渗透顿涅茨克地区防御阵地的俄罗斯步兵部队。该地区乌克兰军方指挥部周一在社交媒体上承认，局势依然“艰难、棘手且瞬息万变”。

乌克兰地面部队在社交媒体上发布消息称，在乌克兰其他地区，俄罗斯导弹袭击了一处军事训练设施，造成一名士兵死亡，另有 11 名士兵受伤。

美联社驻乌克兰基辅记者汉娜·阿尔希罗娃和驻伦敦记者艾玛·伯罗斯对本报道亦有贡献。库克从布鲁塞尔发回报道。