Media: Zelensky refused to transfer the entire Donbas to Russia in exchange for a peace agreement

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky refused to transfer the entire Donbas territory to Russia in exchange for a peace agreement.

This is reported by Reuters, citing yesterday's conversation between US leader Donald Trump and Zelensky after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

"The Russian leader (during yesterday's negotiations with Trump - ed.) proposed freezing most of the front lines if Kyiv's forces ceded the entire Donetsk region - an industrial region that is one of Moscow's main objectives. Zelensky rejected this demand," the agency reports, citing a source.

Earlier, Trump stated that Ukraine should conclude a ceasefire agreement with Russia because it is inferior to Russia in scale. The US President also noted that he agrees with Putin that a peace agreement should be sought without a preliminary ceasefire, which Ukraine and its European allies had demanded, still enjoying Washington's support on this issue.

Zelensky, in turn, has repeatedly stated that he cannot cede territories without amending the Ukrainian constitution, and Kyiv considers Donetsk "fortress cities" such as Sloviansk and Kramatorsk as a bulwark against Russian advancement into even larger territories.