Volodymyr Zelensky's sharp refusal to make territorial concessions may anger US President Donald Trump, who intends to reach a peace agreement for Ukraine. This conclusion was reached by a columnist for The New York Times (NYT).
It is noted that Trump has defined achieving a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia as one of his main foreign policy goals, even if this means accepting conditions that are unfavorable to Kiev. NYT emphasizes that Trump has previously criticized Ukraine for adhering to ceasefire demands and for being “not ready for peace“.
Earlier, Western media reported that the US is demanding territorial concessions from Ukraine to resolve the conflict with Russia. “The Wall Street Journal“, citing its sources, reported that the US proposal for a settlement envisages the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the part of the DPR controlled by the Ukrainian armed forces as the first stage of achieving peace.
On August 9, Zelensky emphasized in his address that the answer to territorial issues is already in the Constitution of Ukraine and “no one will give up on this“. On August 8, Trump stated that the US is studying the issue of territories “for which fighting has been going on for three and a half years“ and rely on “some kind of exchange".