The United States is conditioning its offer of security guarantees for a Ukraine peace deal on Kyiv ceding the entirety of Donbas to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Reuters in an interview.
"The Americans are prepared to finalise these guarantees at a high level once Ukraine is ready to withdraw from Donbas," Zelenskyy said, according to Reuters.
The 47-year-old leader said he had not participated directly in the three rounds of high-level, trilateral US-Russia-Ukraine talks held this year in Abu Dhabi and Geneva, but described himself as understanding the "subtleties" of the American position.
Zelenskyy linked Washington's posture on Ukraine to its parallel focus on Iran. "The Middle East definitely has an impact on President Trump, and I think on his next steps," he said. "President Trump, unfortunately, in my opinion, still chooses a strategy of putting more pressure on the Ukrainian side."
Russia's stated war aim — full control of Donbas — mirrors the condition Reuters reports Washington has set. Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that the region is a non-negotiable element of Moscow's objectives, which it intends to secure either at the negotiating table or on the battlefield, Reuters notes.
The pace of Russian advances, however, has been slow over the past two years. Military analysts cited by Reuters say it could take a long time and significant manpower to take all of Donbas, which includes what they describe as a Fortress Belt of heavily fortified cities.
What remains unresolved
Zelenskyy has consistently argued that security guarantees from international partners are essential to any durable peace — specifically, to deter Russia from resuming hostilities after a deal is signed.
He identified two questions as still unresolved, according to Reuters: who would fund Ukraine's weapons purchases to sustain its military deterrent, and how exactly allied countries would respond to any future Russian aggression.
Neither has been answered in the three rounds of trilateral talks so far.
