Putin promised US to capture Ukraine's Donbas before year ends - Zelenskyy
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
Vladimir Putin promised US Special Representative Steve Witkoff that he would take Donbas by the end of the year, but in reality, it will take years and millions of victims, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.
"He (Putin – ed.) says that in 3-4 months, and this is what he told the Americans, the White House, and President Trump's representative Witkoff, he will take Donbas. He said he would take it by the end of the year. The price will be years and millions of people. And if not years, but sooner, then simply more people. Not a million people, but two or three million corpses," Zelenskyy says.
In an interview with ABC, the Ukrainian President also recalled that the claim that Russia has allegedly captured 70% of Donbas in three years is a manipulation. He recalled that 10 years ago, the Kremlin captured Crimea and a third of Donbas. Instead, in almost four years of full-scale war, Russia has only been able to occupy 30% of the Donetsk region, while Ukraine controls about 32%.
"Over the years of war, when we have been fighting on a full scale, he has taken only 30%. That's a lot. But a million people. He has lost a million people," the head of state says.
Background
Putin put forward many demands for ending the war against Ukraine during a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska. The demands included not only territorial concessions.
Reuters reported that Russia may give up part of the occupied Ukrainian territories, in particular in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions, and Ukraine is supposed to cede parts of the eastern lands that Moscow was unable to capture. In particular, this refers to the Donetsk region.
At the same time, during negotiations with Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not reject the idea of a possible exchange of territories. However, he stressed that such decisions cannot be made without taking into account the position of the Ukrainian people.
Zelenskyy also stressed that the situation on the front lines in Ukraine is currently difficult, but not as bad as Vladimir Putin describes it. According to him, the Kremlin is already thinking about how to end the war. At the same time, Moscow is trying to invent a victory for itself.
