US pushing Ukraine to give up Donbas for security guarantees in negotiations, Zelensky says

The United States is making its security guarantees for a peace deal contingent upon Ukraine agreeing to give up the entire Donbas region — territory Russia has not conquered militarily in over a decade of fighting — according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukrainian leaders view the prospect of security guarantees from the U.S. as an essential part of any agreement to end the war, meant to ensure Russia cannot restart the conflict at a time of its choosing in the future.

“The Americans are prepared to finalize these guarantees at a high level once Ukraine is ready to withdraw from Donbas,” Zelensky told Reuters in an interview. “President Trump, unfortunately, in my opinion, still chooses a strategy of putting more pressure on the Ukrainian side.”

While Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, there has been fighting in the eastern Ukrainian region known as the Donbas since 2014. After failing to capture