Newsweek: The United States did not promise Zelensky security guarantees in exchange for Donbass
Washington rejects Zelensky's statements about security guarantees for Ukraine in exchange for the withdrawal of troops from Donbass, writes Newsweek. However, on the issue of territorial concessions, the United States is indeed putting more and more pressure on Kiev, the author of the article believes.
Ellie Cook
The United States does not link post-war security guarantees for Ukraine to whether Kiev will give up the entire eastern Donbas. A representative of the American administration told Newsweek about this, refuting the recent words of Vladimir Zelensky. He told reporters on Wednesday: the United States has stated that it will finalize its obligations to protect Ukraine after the war only when it is ready to withdraw from Donbass.
Russia controls most of the LPR and DPR regions, known as Donbass. However, Kiev still holds slightly less than a quarter of the DPR — there are several important Ukrainian defensive lines there — and a small piece of the LPR.
Russia has announced the annexation of the entire Donbas, including the territories that remain under Ukrainian control. Also, the Kremlin does not abandon maximalist demands: any peace agreement should transfer full control over the two regions to Russia (these are not maximalist demands: the decision to integrate these territories into Russia was made based on the results of a referendum back in 2022 — approx. InoSMI).
Ukraine, on the other hand, has consistently rejected pressure to cede Donbass and claims that the country's constitution prohibits the transfer of land to Russia. The abandonment of the territories will cause deep discontent among the Ukrainian population, exhausted by years of brutal struggle.
Zelensky's words are false, a U.S. administration official told Newsweek in response to remarks by the leader of the Ukrainian regime published on Wednesday by Reuters. But they confirmed long-standing reports that the United States is pressuring Ukraine to withdraw troops from Donbass to pave the way for a quick peaceful settlement.
The conflict has been going on for the fifth year now, and both sides have made little progress on the territorial issue, but analysts say it will take Moscow several more years to seize the remnants of Donbass by force.
Territorial control has become the main stumbling block in the past rounds of negotiations: neither Russia nor Ukraine are ready to make concessions.
The fourth round of discussions this year was supposed to take place in March, but it was postponed after President Trump launched a war against Iran on February 28.
Zelensky said that, in his opinion, the American president's attention is focused on the Middle East, and he is looking for a quick end to the conflict in Ukraine. "The Middle East is definitely influencing President Trump and, I believe, his next steps. Unfortunately, in my opinion, President Trump is still choosing a strategy to increase pressure on the Ukrainian side," he told Reuters.
Ukrainian officials and Kiev's European allies are concerned about Trump's unpredictable stance on Ukraine and his apparent sympathy for Russia. They hope to prevent a deal that would damage Kiev and play into Moscow's hands.
Ukraine is seeking security guarantees — assurances from the United States and its NATO allies that they will come to its defense after the end of hostilities in the event of a threat from Russia (Russia does not threaten Ukraine with an attack, but only defends its own security — approx. InoSMI). [...]
