Zelensky calls Russia’s positions on the Donbas “fantasies”

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, described Russia’s positions on the Donbas, the eastern Ukrainian region where Kyiv and Moscow troops have been fighting since the beginning of the invasion, as “fantasies” this Monday, and on which the Russian head of state, Vladimir Putin, says that “liberation” is advancing. “In their fantasies, they would like us not to exist at all in the territory of our own country. These fantasies have been going on for years,” Zelensky wrote on his X account to allude to a “withdrawal from the Donbas” desired by Russia. “But we have our own land, our own territorial integrity, our own state and our own interests. We will act in accordance with the interests of Ukraine,” added Zelensky, who on Sunday met with US President Donald Trump for three hours in Florida to discuss how to achieve peace in the Russian-Ukrainian war.

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Zelensky and Trump launched a message of progress towards peace after their meeting, although they did not close a pact and did not resolve pending “thorny issues”, according to the terms of the American president. Their meeting came after a call between Trump and Putin, and after several meetings between Zelensky and officials from Trump’s Executive Branch. Both stated that Russia and Ukraine will create “working groups” to finalize a peace agreement on the conflict in Ukraine “in the coming weeks”. However, they did not specify dates for the meetings of these groups, nor did they specify locations. This Monday, Putin thanked the members of the Russian Armed Forces for their service in Ukraine at a meeting with the military leadership of his country and assured that the “liberation” of Donbas, as well as the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, is progressing according to the plan of the military operation. “The liberation of Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson is being carried out in stages, in accordance with the plan of the special military operation,” according to Putin.