The idea of conducting a voiced Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meeting in Alaska, as well as the proposals published in the press but not officially confirmed to exchange the rest of Donbas for a truce with Russia - all this is a potentially dangerous situation for Ukraine and Europe, which only lose and do not receive any real guarantees of peace. He writes about this CNN .
"Kyiv and its European allies reacted with understandable horror to early ideas from Trump envoy Steve Witkoff that Ukraine would cede the remnants of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in exchange for a ceasefire," the author of the publication writes, referring to information leaked by insiders to the media.
As CNN notes, Putin is clearly attracted by the idea of taking Ukrainian territories without a fight, the defense of which has already cost Ukrainians thousands of lives. The author of the article believes that Ukraine could theoretically still sacrifice Pokrovskoye and Kostyantynivka, which are already under threat of encirclement. But Kramatorsk and Sloviansk are another matter.
"Thousands of civilians live there now, and Moscow would be delighted with scenes where cities are evacuated and Russian troops enter without a single shot being fired," writes CNN.
The obvious consequence of giving up these territories would be the anger of Ukrainians, especially the military, who deeply distrust Russia. However, it is not clear what Ukraine will get in return, American journalists emphasize. Perhaps it is about the withdrawal of Russian troops from"tiny sections of border territories in Sumy and Kharkiv regions - part of Putin's alleged"buffer zone."
If Ukraine has to cede Donbas simply for the sake of stopping hostilities, then this looks very doubtful, writes CNN, recalling that Putin has already broken his promises many times.
In this context, Trump's plans to meet Putin in Alaska look like a potential source of danger. As the author of the article notes,"there is a risk that a friendly atmosphere will arise between Trump and Putin," and they will agree among themselves what Ukraine should give up. And then this pseudo-peace plan will be offered to Kyiv under the threat of canceling military aid.
Overall, the situation for Ukraine looks ominous, writes CNN: another Trump ultimatum has surfaced without new sanctions against Russia, the Russian army continues to advance on the front, and Putin has received his first invitation to the United States in many years to discuss the seizure of Ukrainian territories without a fight.
"And this is before the former KGB spy starts working his obvious magic on Trump. There are six days left until Friday (the date of the announced meeting in Alaska – UNIAN), but even this distance looks like a slow defeat for Kyiv," the author of the article summarizes.
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As UNIAN reported, the day before, Donald Trump announced that a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia will involve some exchange of territories , which Kyiv will have to agree to. He did not disclose details.
Western media, citing sources, write that the US has allegedly offered Putin the rest of the Ukrainian Donbas in exchange for a cessation of hostilities.
Others write that US Special Representative Steve Witkoff during negotiations in Moscow I seem to have misunderstood Putin. It is reported that the Russians demanded that they give them Donbas, Kherson region, and Zaporizhia, and for some reason Witkoff thought that the Russians were ready to withdraw from the occupied south in exchange for Donbas.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a sharp statement, emphasizing that just like that Ukraine will not give its territories to the Russians.
