Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed on Tuesday not to give eastern Ukrainian land to Russia, saying that abandoning the Donbas region would open the door for Russian President Vladimir Putin to “start a third war” in Ukraine.

Russia has long pushed for a direct peace deal that would address a broad range of issues and impose onerous demands on Ukraine, including territorial concessions. Avoiding a cease-fire would allow Russia to continue pressing its advantage on the battlefield in the meantime.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia could step up strikes on Kyiv after the Putin-Trump summit, which failed to yield a cease-fire deal, and with news of his own trip to

For European diplomats, officials and analysts, Vladimir Putin has done little to soften his long-standing war aims in Ukraine.

Once a vague proposal for a territorial swap gained clarity, a worried President Volodymyr Zelensky worked to rally allies before Friday’s Trump-Putin summit.

President Trump proclaimed Friday he and Russian President Vladimir Putin made “great progress” toward ending Moscow’s war on Ukraine after meeting for nearly three hours in

Despite the talks, there will be no lasting diplomatic resolution of the NATO-Russia conflict, which can only be ended on a progressive basis by an anti-war movement of the working class.

Ukraine’s European allies will speak on Sunday, a day before President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with Donald Trump in Washington on Friday’s talks in Alaska with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, France said.