Zelensky Says He Won’t Trade Land For Peace Ahead of Trump-Putin Summit
Ukraine will not cede any territory to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky declared early Saturday, just hours after Washington and Moscow agreed to hold a summit aimed at ending the conflict.
Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are set to meet in Alaska—a state near Russia—on August 15 to attempt to resolve the three-year war, despite repeated warnings from Ukraine and European leaders that Kyiv must be included in any negotiations.
Announcing the summit on Friday, Trump suggested there would be “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” Ukraine and Russia, though he did not provide further details.
“Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” Zelensky said on social media hours later.
“Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace. They will achieve nothing,” he said, adding that the war “cannot be ended without us, without Ukraine.”
Zelensky said Kyiv was “ready for real decisions that can bring peace” but said it should be a “dignified peace”, without giving details, Agence France Presse reported.
Bringing peace to the war-torn region has been a priority for Trump since before he began his second term in January.
In May, efforts to resolve the war appeared to be nearing a critical juncture as Putin, Trump, and Zelensky were considering a three-way meeting in Istanbul, Turkey.
Zelensky had asked Putin to meet face-to-face there in what would have been the first direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow since Russia’s full-fledged invasion in February 2022.
Trump had stated that he could have joined them quickly if there were signs of an agreement to end the violence. At the time, the Putin administration had said it would send a delegation to Istanbul but had not stated whether the Russian president would be among those in attendance.
Speaking with reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he was considering whether he would attend.
“He’d like me to be there, and that’s a possibility,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, referring to Putin. “I don’t know that he would be there if I’m not there. We’re going to find out.”
Trump was in the Middle East at the time and said that, despite a full schedule, he would consider quickly rerouting his trip to attend a Russia-Ukraine summit if both leaders were there and it was possible to reach a peace deal.
“We have a very full situation. Now, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t do it to save a lot of lives and come back,” Trump said, according to a pool report from the Washington Post.
In April, as he attended Pope Francis’s funeral in Rome, Trump and Zelenskyy met face-to-face for the first time since their explosive Oval Office sit-down in February. The previous week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in Paris that the U.S. may “move on” if no immediate peace progress occurs towards a peace deal.
After the meeting, Zelenskyy posted on X that he and Trump “discussed a lot one-on-one” in the Vatican.
“Hoping for results on everything we covered,” the Ukrainian president said. “Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has the potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you [President Trump].”
Good meeting. We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to… pic.twitter.com/q4ZhVXCjw0
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 26, 2025
