Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Donald Trump unfair for expecting Ukraine to offer concessions for a peace deal with Russia. Zelenskyy said the Ukrainians will never forgive him or the U.S. if Kyiv agrees hands over the Donbas region to Russia.
U.S. envoys are pushing for Ukraine to give up control of the region to Russia in order to end the war. According to Zelenskyy, giving a part of Ukrainian land to Russia will be seen as an unsuccessful story for the war’s victims.
The Ukrainian president told Axios, “Emotionally, people will never forgive this. Never. They will not forgive… me, they will not forgive the U.S.” He further added, “This is part of our country, all these citizens, the flag, the land.”
This comes after a Russian and Ukrainian negotiation meeting in Geneva. The two main goals of the meeting were to discuss security and humanitarian issues for those impacted by the war.
Zelenskyy: Ukrainians will never forgive me or the US if we cede Donbas to Putin.
Ukrainian people will reject peace deal that involves Ukraine unilaterally withdrawing from eastern Donbas and turning it over to russia — Axios. 1/ pic.twitter.com/8BhHezR1rw
— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) February 17, 2026
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are working as U.S. envoys to support the peace talks between the two countries. They are working towards a solution where Kyiv agrees to give up the control of 15 to 20 percent of Donbas and make it a free economic zone.
Zelenskyy said that taking such a decision will require approval from the Ukrainian people, as mentioned in Kyiv’s constitution. If the people agree to this U.S.-suggested peace deal, Kyiv will have to remove troops from the Donbas region. For this to happen, Ukraine is demanding that Russia pull its forces by the same distance.
The Ukrainians may agree to a peace deal that freezes the troops to where they are present currently. However, to get Ukrainian’s approval, an election will have to be conducted. A nationwide election during wartime and amid Russian attacks is almost impossible in the absence of a cease-fire. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy did agree on monitoring a cease-fire with drones to ensure it is followed.
Ukraine and Russia resumed US-brokered talks in Geneva for a second day, with Kyiv coordinating closely with American and European allies.
While negotiations continue, land remains a major sticking point and energy infrastructure attacks persist, complicating prospects for a… pic.twitter.com/KItnndjL44
— Capital.com International (@capitalcom) February 18, 2026
Even before the peace talks, Russia attacked Ukraine, damaging the power networks. Zelenskyy revealed the air attacks impacted thousands of people, leaving them without water and heat in cold weather.
Putin, however, did agree to stop the attacks during the presidential election. Zelenskyy claimed Ukraine will need at least 60 days to set up nationwide elections. He hopes to sit with Putin and discuss the deal face-to-face.
