Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks at a press conference as Denmark launches their EU presidency at Marselisborg Castle on July 3, 2025 in Aarhus, Denmark. Martin Sylvest Andersen/Getty Images Europe hide caption
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Martin Sylvest Andersen/Getty Images Europe
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that his country has no intention of giving away its territory captured by Russia in the ongoing war.
“Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier,” Zelenskyy said in a video posted on several social media sites, including X. “We will not reward Russia for what it has perpetrated,” he added.
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His remarks come the day after President Trump announced he’ll hold a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska next Friday.
Trump is seeking an end to the war and suggested Ukraine might have to give up some of the territory that has been captured by Russia.
“It’s very complicated. But we’re going to get some [territory] back, and we’re going to get some switched,” Trump said. “There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both, but we’ll be talking about that either later, or tomorrow.”
Kremlin advisor Yuri Ushakov said Saturday that the U.S. and Russian leaders would seek a “long-term solution” to the war. Russia has made multiple demands in the past that include control of Ukrainian territory, limits on the size of Ukraine’s future military, and guarantees that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO.
However, Ukraine is not part of the summit, and Zelenskyy said no decisions can be reached without his country’s involvement.
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“The Ukrainian people deserve peace. But all partners must understand what a dignified peace is,” Zelenskyy said. “This war must be brought to an end — and Russia must end it. Russia started it and is dragging it out, ignoring all deadlines, and that is the problem, not something else.”
Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian leaders have always insisted that their goal is to reclaim all of the territory that Russia has captured. Russia first invaded in 2014, and then launched a full-scale military operation in 2022.
Yet for more than two years, the frontlines have barely changed. With more troops and firepower, Russia is making incremental gains at a high cost, but has not achieved any major breakthroughs. Ukraine has remained mostly in defensive positions.
Russian forces control close to 20% of Ukraine’s territory in the east and south of the country.
A complicated relationship
The Trump-Putin meeting comes amid a complicated relationship between between the two leaders over the past several months.
Trump came into office promising to quickly end the war, boasting that his ties with Putin would help bring about a peace deal.
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For months, Trump resisted putting pressure on Putin, saying his goal was a peace agreement. But more recently, Trump’s posture has shifted as Russia escalated strikes against Ukraine. Trump has threatened tougher sanctions against Moscow, and this week he imposed additional tariffs on India, a leading buyer of Russian oil.
Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin on Aug. 6 in Moscow, and afterward, Trump said progress had been made.
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The Ukrainians are deeply skeptical about Putin’s intentions. They believe the Russian leader engages in talks to give the appearance that he wants a peace deal, but think he’s actually buying time to continue the war.
Putin last met a U.S. president in 2021, when he sat down with President Joe Biden in Geneva. Trump last met Putin in 2019 on the sidelines of the G20 in Osaka, Japan.
