Ukraine will not trade land for peace, says top Zelenskyy aide
Mykhailo Podolyak, Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine will evaluate the results of the Alaska summit based on three criteria of its own. At the same time, Kyiv will not engage in any bargaining with representatives of the Russian regime, according to Mykhailo Podolyak, Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
Podolyak stated that Ukraine has three criteria for assessing the actual results of the meeting in Anchorage:
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Immediate, unconditional, and complete ceasefire;
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Principles of the future peace process, which must be agreed upon with Ukraine and Europe, and where the Kremlin will have no veto power, including a real trilateral negotiation format;
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A signal to all countries that purchase Russian resources and thereby finance the war in Ukraine — support for the war must now mean isolation, sanctions, and loss of global markets.
In addition, Ukraine is not going to engage in any territorial bargaining with Russia, no matter what anyone says. Similarly, Kyiv will not discuss any "special statuses" for the temporarily occupied areas.
"First, people must stop dying — only then does politics begin. It is obvious that President Trump wants to leave Alaska as a peacemaker, not as a bystander in someone else's (read: Russian) scenario. That is only possible if the first point — the ceasefire — is implemented literally within hours. Otherwise, harsh pressure tools must be triggered automatically," Podolyak concluded.
Meanwhile, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that Russian forces continue killing civilians even on the day of negotiations in Alaska. Moscow shows no signs that it is ready to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump–Putin meeting
The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Alaska is scheduled to begin at 22:00 Kyiv time. Trump is expected to personally meet Putin upon his arrival in the city of Anchorage.
At present, both Trump and Putin have already departed for Alaska. According to flight tracking services, Putin's plane is expected to land around 21:00 Kyiv time or possibly earlier. The meeting is expected to last six or seven hours.
It is also known that the meeting will take place behind closed doors, with no access for mainstream media. Official statements and press conferences from both sides are expected following the summit.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported on three possible scenarios Ukraine may face after the Trump–Putin negotiations.
