Zelenskyy insists Ukraine will not give Donbas to Russia

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine would not hand over territory in Donetsk and Luhansk to Russia.

This was emphasized by Zelenskyy to reporters after speaking with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Monday and speaking by phone with US President Donald Trump.

"Donbas is an important issue for me. First, because I have already started talking about the eastern part of our country, let's continue," he said, quoted by Kyiv Post, Tuesday, December 16. "As for Russia's position, so far it has not changed. They know that they want our Donbas. Our position is practical, realistic, and fair. We remain firm in our stance, and we do not want to give up our Donbas," he said.

"America wants to find a compromise. They proposed a free economic zone. I want to emphasize once again, a free economic zone does not mean being under the control of the Russian Federation. This is an important feature for me in any format related to Donbas. Both de jure and de facto, we will not recognize Donbas as part of Russia," said Zelenskyy.

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Responding to a question from Kyiv Post on WhatsApp about the sustainability of security guarantees, Zelensky said the guarantees must be approved by the US Congress.

"I see that President Trump's team is ready for this," he said.

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