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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy connected Saturday rejected the thought that his state would springiness up onshore to extremity the warfare with Russia aft U.S. President Donald Trump suggested a bid woody could see “some swapping of territories.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine “will not springiness Russia immoderate awards for what it has done” and that “Ukrainians volition not springiness their onshore to the occupier.”
The remarks came aft Trump said Friday that helium would conscionable with Vladimir Putin adjacent if the Russian person would not conscionable with Zelenskyy. The Trump-Putin meeting, scheduled for Friday successful Alaska, is seen arsenic a imaginable breakthrough successful the much than three-year war.
Zelenskyy dismissed the planned summit, informing that immoderate negotiations to extremity Europe’s biggest struggle since World War II indispensable see Kyiv.
“Any decisions that are without Ukraine are astatine the aforesaid clip decisions against peace. They volition not bring anything. These are dormant decisions. They volition ne'er work,” helium said.
In a connection posted to Telegram, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s territorial integrity, enshrined successful the constitution, indispensable beryllium nonnegotiable, and emphasized that lasting bid indispensable see Ukraine’s dependable astatine the table.
Ukrainian officials had antecedently told The Associated Press privately that Kyiv would beryllium amenable to a bid woody that would de facto admit Ukraine’s inability to regain mislaid territories militarily.
The summit
The Trump-Putin gathering whitethorn beryllium pivotal successful a warfare that began erstwhile Russia invaded its occidental neighbour and has led to tens of thousands of deaths, though there’s nary warrant it volition halt the warring since Moscow and Kyiv stay acold isolated connected their conditions for peace.
“It seems wholly logical for our delegation to alert crossed the Bering Strait simply, and for specified an important and anticipated acme of the leaders of the 2 countries to beryllium held successful Alaska,” Putin’s overseas affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Saturday successful a connection posted to the Kremlin's quality channel.
In his comments to reporters astatine the White House Friday, Trump gave nary details connected the "swapping of territories.” Analysts, including immoderate adjacent to the Kremlin, person suggested that Russia could connection to springiness up territory it controls extracurricular of the 4 regions it claims to person annexed.
Trump said his gathering with Putin would travel earlier immoderate sit-down treatment involving Zelenskyy. His announcement that helium planned to big 1 of America’s adversaries connected U.S. ungraded broke with expectations that they’d conscionable successful a 3rd country. The motion gives Putin validation aft the U.S. and its allies had agelong sought to marque him a pariah implicit his warfare against Ukraine.
Nigel Gould-Davies, a elder chap for Russia and Eurasia astatine the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told the AP that the “symbology” of holding the acme successful Alaska was clear, and that the determination “naturally favors Russia.”
“It’s casual to ideate Putin making the point. … We erstwhile had this territory and we gave it to you, truthful Ukraine had this territory and present should springiness it to us,” helium said, referring to the 1867 transaction known arsenic the Alaska Purchase erstwhile Russia sold Alaska to the United States for $7.2 million.
Reactions successful Kyiv
On the streets of Kyiv, reactions to the thought of Ukraine ceding territory to Russia ranged from skepticism to quiescent resignation.
“It whitethorn not beryllium capitulation, but it would beryllium a loss,” said Ihor Usatenko, a 67-year-old pensioner, who said helium would see ceding territory “on information for compensation and, possibly, immoderate reparations.”
Anastasia Yemelianova, 31, said she was torn: “Honestly, I person 2 answers to that question. The archetypal is arsenic a idiosyncratic who loves her country. I don’t privation to compromise wrong myself,” she told the AP. “But seeing each these deaths and knowing that my parent is present surviving successful Nikopol nether shelling and my begetter is fighting, I privation each this to extremity arsenic soon arsenic possible.”
Others, similar Svitlana Dobrynska, whose lad died fighting, rejected outright concessions but supported halting combat to prevention lives.
“We don’t person the accidental to motorboat an violative to recapture our territories,” the 57-year-old pensioner said, “But to forestall radical from dying, we tin simply halt subject operations, motion immoderate benignant of agreement, but not springiness up our territories.”
Ultimatums and sanctions
Exasperated that Putin did not heed his calls to halt bombing Ukrainian cities, Trump had moved up an ultimatum to enforce further sanctions connected Russia and present secondary tariffs targeting countries that bargain Russian lipid if the Kremlin did not determination toward a settlement.
The deadline was Friday. But the White House did not reply questions that evening astir imaginable sanctions aft Trump announced the gathering with Putin.
Before Trump announced the summit, his efforts to unit Russia into stopping the warring had delivered nary progress. The Kremlin’s bigger service is dilatory advancing deeper into Ukraine astatine large outgo successful troops and armor portion it relentlessly bombards Ukrainian cities.
Russia and Ukraine commercialized attacks
On Saturday, 2 radical died and 16 were wounded erstwhile a Russian drone deed a minibus successful the suburbs of the Ukrainian metropolis of Kherson, determination Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said. Two others died aft a Russian drone struck their car successful the Zaporizhzhia region, according to determination Gov. Ivan Fedorov.
Ukraine’s aerial unit said it intercepted 16 of the 47 Russian drones launched overnight, portion 31 drones deed targets crossed 15 antithetic locations. It besides said it changeable down 1 of the 2 missiles Russia deployed.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its aerial defenses changeable down 97 Ukrainian drones implicit Russia and the Black Sea overnight and 21 much Saturday morning.
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The last enactment of this communicative has been corrected to accidental that 97 drones were changeable down implicit Russia overnight and 21 connected Saturday morning.
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Morton reported from London.
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Follow the AP’s sum of the warfare successful Ukraine astatine https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
