A shelling crater in central Donetsk, in Russian-occupied Ukraine, 20 February 2024. Photo: EPA / Valery Melnikov
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may be willing to give up the country’s eastern Donetsk region, despite his long-established opposition to doing so, in order to receive post-war security guarantees from the US, The Atlantic reported on Thursday.
Citing two officials in the Office of the President of Ukraine, the report, which, if true, could mark the most significant change in Kyiv’s negotiating position since US-brokered peace talks began, has not been officially confirmed.
Ukraine has long refused to cede the remaining territory under its control in Donetsk and the wider Donbas region, despite the US reportedly making its provision of security guarantees conditional on Ukraine’s willingness to make such a concession.
According to The Atlantic, amid significant pressure from US President Donald Trump’s administration, Zelensky is increasingly willing to give up Donetsk, despite fears that doing so would allow Russian forces to take control of the territory unopposed.
“They’re really being creative, looking for how to do it in a way that people would accept,” an official from the Zelensky administration told The Atlantic.
Doing so would only be possible if the White House provided more concrete security guarantees to Kyiv, which so far the Trump administration has not agreed to do, and would also likely require approval via referendum, the officials said.
The issue of control over Donetsk, which is partially home to the Donbas line, a strategically important string of defensive fortifications that defence experts say is vital to protecting the rest of Ukraine, has long been the main obstacle to any peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv.
The Atlantic’s report came a day after the Financial Times reported that Zelensky had agreed to hold a presidential election and a referendum on a peace deal with Russia, under “intense pressure” from the Trump administration to hold both votes by May.
However, Zelensky told journalists on Wednesday that he had heard about his intention to announce a presidential election and a referendum on a peace deal with Russia “for the first time” when it was reported by the Financial Times.
“This is the first time I’ve heard about the intention to announce on the 24th. I probably heard it for the first time from the Financial Times. Now I’m hearing it for the second time from you,” Zelensky said when asked about the report.
