Maximum pressure on Zelenski due to the movements of Trump and Putin to seek an end to the war in Ukraine. The Russian president has informed the American president that he wants to annex the entire Donetsk region. "The Russians' idea has not changed, they want us to leave Donbass," Zelenski stated this morning in a meeting with journalists in Kiev, emphasizing that he is not willing to negotiate the surrender of the part that resists under Ukrainian control. Russian and pro-Russian forces have already occupied the neighboring Lugansk region. As reported by The Washington Post, the proposal to end the war in Ukraine would include Russia returning an unspecified part of the occupied territory in the provinces of Zaporizhia and Kherson.
In this context, Trump's refusal to supply Tomahawk missiles and the fact that Hungary, which has not supported Kiev, is the venue for a possible peace summit add negative perspectives to Zelenski's position.
EU Calls for a Seat for Kiev in Negotiations on Ending the War in Ukraine
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, is sincere in his attempt to end the war in Ukraine, but talks that exclude Ukraine and Europe will not be conclusive, stated the EU's chief of foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, on Monday.
"We are also working to convince our allies around the world that nothing can come out of these meetings if Ukraine or Europe do not participate," Kallas told the press after a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council. "Those who do not want to end this war are Russia. We must not be distracted... we have to make Russia also want peace", added Kallas.
Another Winter in the War in Ukraine: AECID Will Soon Send 70 Generators to Kiev
The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) will soon send 70 generators to Ukraine to help cope with the arrival of winter to the population amidst the conflict with Russia, as announced on Monday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union, and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares. "We are facing a new winter in which it is necessary to provide stability, reliability to the electrical system" in Ukraine, he stated in remarks to the press upon his arrival at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg.
In this regard, the AECID "has planned 70 new generators that will depart for Ukraine in the coming days to facilitate and provide energy, electricity, heating in this harsh winter expected in this fourth year of the war in Ukraine," he noted.
Hungary Celebrates Being Chosen as the Venue for the Trump-Putin Meeting
The President of Hungary, Tamás Suyok, expressed on Monday that he is "proud" that the US President, Donald Trump, and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, have chosen Budapest as the venue for their upcoming face-to-face meeting. "We consider the initiative of the administration of the US President, Donald Trump, very important. We are extremely proud that Budapest will host the meeting between the Presidents of the United States and Russia, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin," stated Suyek at a press conference in Sofia alongside his Bulgarian colleague, Rumen Radev.
The meeting raises hopes for progress towards a peace agreement in the war in Ukraine after the US administration managed to broker a ceasefire between Israel and the radical Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. However, it has sparked controversy due to the arrest warrant issued in March 2023 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Putin for war crimes and Hungary, an ally of the Russian president, is not willing to enforce it.
Lavrov and Rubio to Soon Begin Preparations for the Putin-Trump Summit in Budapest
The Foreign Ministers of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, and the US, Marco Rubio, will soon begin preparations for the summit in Budapest between the presidents of both countries, Russian Vladimir Putin and American Donald Trump, as announced today by the Russian Foreign Ministry. The telephone conversation "is approaching, it is a matter that, unlike the in-person meeting, is much more advanced," stated Sergei Riabkov, Deputy Foreign Minister, to the local press.
However, he admitted that it is unknown where the meeting between the Russian Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State will take place, who last met in mid-August in Alaska. "There is still no agreement of any kind. Everything is still under study," he pointed out.
Zelenski Rejects Handing Over the Entire Donetsk Region to Russia to End the War in Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski reaffirmed upon returning to Ukraine from his recent visit to the White House that he is willing to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in any format, even with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is hostile to Kiev, as the host, but he insisted that he will not even negotiate on the Russian demand for Ukrainians to hand over the entire Donetsk region.
Zelenski expressed this in a meeting with EFE and other international and Ukrainian media in Kiev after his trip to the US, during which he did not obtain, as he would have liked, President Donald Trump's agreement for the delivery of long-range Tomahawk missiles, but he did have contacts with arms manufacturers who could provide Ukraine with up to 25 Patriot anti-aircraft systems in the coming years.
"The Russians' idea has not changed. They want us to leave Donbass," said Zelenski in reference to the name given to the territory in eastern Ukraine that includes the regions of Lugansk and Donetsk. Russia fully occupies Lugansk and has prioritized taking all of Donetsk by force, of which it now controls over 70%. Zelenski was informed of the Russian position by Trump, who, on the eve of his meeting with the Ukrainian leader, had spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian president once again flatly rejected the possibility of ceding territory that Ukraine has not lost on the battlefield. According to several media reports, such as The Washington Post, Putin would have offered to give up part of the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia - which the Kremlin declared part of the Russian Federation along with Lugansk and Donetsk at the beginning of the war - in exchange for the Ukrainian withdrawal from the territory that Kiev still controls in Donetsk. Zelenski stated that Russia has not yet communicated a clear position on this option.
According to the AP agency, however, Zelenski may not have outright rejected a division based on the current front line. "We share President Trump's positive perspective if it leads to the end of the war. After many rounds of discussion for over two hours with him and his team, his message, in my opinion, is positive: that we stay where we are on the contact line, as long as all parties understand what is meant," he assured.
Russian Forces Take Control of the Village of Myrne in Eastern Ukraine
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that its troops have taken control of the village of Myrne, located in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, a territory that has been the scene of intense fighting since the start of the conflict.
According to the official statement, the capture of Myrne represents a strategic advance for Russian forces and their allies in the region, strengthening their control over key areas of the Donbas, an area that has been a focus of disputes since 2014.
The Donetsk region is one of the most affected by the war that broke out in 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with constant changes in territorial control. The capture of villages like Myrne, although often small, can have significant tactical implications for the Russian offensive in the east of the country.