Vladimir Putin would perceive Ukraine's willingness to cede Donbas as weakness, UNIAN reported, citing an opinion of a German politician.
Jürgen Hardt, foreign policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, said that it was simply unthinkable for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to give up territories "that Russia failed to conquer in four years of war," n-tv.de reported.
If Ukraine did this (ceded Donbas to Moscow), it would be a sign of weakness, which Putin would immediately misinterpret. Then, after a period of ceasefire, he would quickly look for a pretext "to continue and actually pursue his goal, which is to bring all of Ukraine under his control," Hardt said.
German television spoke to Ukrainian soldiers who believe that it would be fatal for Ukraine to abandon its territories in eastern Ukraine, which have been fiercely fought over for years.
Four years ago, the Russian army launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine after occupying Crimea in 2014. Zelensky is adamant that Ukraine will not sign documents giving up its territories to the Russian aggressor. However, Kiev is under increasing pressure from US President Donald Trump to make a deal that politicians and analysts say could be disadvantageous for Ukrainians and reward Putin's offensive.