US denies pressuring Ukraine to give up Donbas

In particular, the Financial Times, citing as many as eight sources, wrote that the administration of US President Donald Trump had made it clear to Ukraine that security guarantees depended on whether Kyiv agreed to a peace deal.

At the same time, the peace agreement will most likely require the transfer of Donbas to the Russian regime. In particular, the Kremlin has already made statements that the so-called territorial issue is key in the negotiations.

In exchange for the withdrawal of troops from Donbas, the US may offer Ukraine more weapons to strengthen its peacetime army. At the same time, one senior Ukrainian official told the FT that Kyiv is increasingly losing confidence that the US will commit to providing security guarantees and implementing the agreement.

He says the US stops every time security guarantees are about to be signed.

In general, the agency writes that Kyiv demands firm confirmation of guarantees before ceding territory. But the US believes that it is Ukraine that should give up Donbas and is not putting pressure on Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, the White House, according to Reuters, has denied that it is demanding Ukraine give up territory in exchange for security guarantees.

"This is totally false — the US's only role in the peacemaking process is to bring both sides together to make a deal," says Anna Kelly, deputy press secretary for the US administration.

Another source told the agency that Washington does not intend to and is not trying to impose any territorial concessions on Ukraine, and both sides—Ukraine and Russia—must agree to a peace deal.

Negotiations in Abu Dhabi

This weekend, the first trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, Russia, and the US took place in Abu Dhabi. They received a positive assessment from the American side: the meeting was described as constructive.

For its part, the Ukrainian delegation described the talks in the United Arab Emirates as substantive. The parties discussed a wide range of military and political issues directly related to the possibility of ending hostilities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later noted that this was the first trilateral dialogue in a long time aimed at finding ways to end the war. He announced the next round of talks for February: theoretically, it will take place on February 1.