Ukraine will not get out of Donbas This was emphasized by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during a conversation with journalists.

Answering the question of what configuration of the exchange of territories the Americans are proposing, the head of state emphasized:"We will not leave Donbas. We cannot do this. Everyone forgets the first part - our territories are illegally occupied."

Zelensky noted that for the Russians, Donbas is a"springboard for a future new offensive."

"If we leave Donbas of our own free will, or if we are pressured, we will start a third war. Why? Crimea was one hundred percent a springboard for an attack on the south of our state. Donbas was one hundred percent a springboard for not sparing Ukrainian citizens, not using our own, not doing any mobilization (sorry for saying that, but it is true), and turning the separatists into the Russian army," he said.

The President added that one of the strongest parts of the Russian offensive forces were people recruited from our territories occupied after 2014. That is, a bridgehead was being formed for a full-scale invasion.

"After a full-scale invasion, if today we withdraw from Donbas, from our fortifications, from our reliefs, from the heights that we control, we will clearly open a bridgehead for preparing an offensive by the"Russians". A few years - and Putin will have an open path to both Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions. And not only. Also to Kharkiv. And therefore, in my opinion, any issue of territories cannot be separated from security guarantees. Otherwise, now they want to give them about 9 thousand square kilometers, this is about 30% of the Donetsk region, and this is a bridgehead for their new aggression," Zelensky emphasized.

Negotiations on the war in Ukraine

A meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is scheduled to take place in Alaska on August 15.

Politico, citing its sources, reported that the US offer Russia full control over Donetsk and Luhansk regions in exchange for freezing the front line in Zaporizhia and Kherson regions.

Zelensky is convinced that Russia seeks to bargain for more favorable positions to renew the war. To this end, the aggressor country is promoting the idea of"exchange" one Ukrainian territory for another, with consequences that guarantee nothing.