Giving up Donbas will not end Putin ‘s war against Ukraine, but only give him time to prepare for another invasion, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned, predicting that Russian forces could return in a year, two years or even five.
The American representatives responded that the proposal would not involve Nato membership but would offer something similar to the alliance’s security arrangements, according to Zelenskyy.
I said right there, ‘Can you tell me what it means? “This is why when Americans asked, ‘Can you exchange Donbas for security? What security? Nato?'” Zelenskyy recalled.
So that wasn’t about Russian-speaking people,” he said, questioning whether surrendering Donbas would satisfy Putin’s demands or merely encourage further territorial ambitions. Zelenskyy also revealed details of a conversation with American representatives who asked whether Ukraine would consider exchanging Donbas for security guarantees.
Rejecting the idea of trading territory for peace, Zelenskyy said no security arrangement could be trusted unless it offered Ukraine clear and enforceable guarantees against future Russian aggression. It’s not only about reality, even more about philosophy,” Zelenskyy said, arguing that Russia’s actions since the beginning of the full-scale invasion had shown why Kyiv could not take Putin’s stated objectives at face value. And who will be guilty?” he said, arguing that territorial concessions without credible security guarantees could leave Ukraine exposed to another Russian offensive. He said he sought clarity on what those guarantees would involve and whether they would include Ukraine’s membership in Nato.
“Ceding Ukrainian land for peace is just abstract words. “He kept saying he was defending Russian-speaking people and then tortured hundreds and thousands to death in Bucha and other places. “Nobody trusts Putin to stop if we leave Donbas. He will pause. Then he will come back in one year, two years, or five years.