Zelensky Rejects U.S. Push to Cede Donbas, Insists Europe Must Join Peace Talks and Calls for Prisoner Swap

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said ending the war with Russia without European participation would be “unfair” and “impossible,” while rejecting American suggestions that Kyiv surrender territory in Donbas to reach a peace deal. ⠀ Speaking alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Dublin on November 11, Zelensky said Washington repeatedly raised the eastern Ukrainian region in negotiations. “They think that to stop this war, we have to give up our territory,” he said. “It’s impossible to talk this way with us, with an independent country.” U.S. mediators were exploring alternative formulas, he added, but sensitive territorial questions would need to be settled by leaders. ⠀ Zelensky urged European governments to select specific representatives for the negotiations before the end of November. During a visit to Copenhagen the previous day, he suggested a November 19 gathering of Ukraine’s allies in Berlin as an opportunity to agree on who would speak for Europe. He said Europe’s involvement was indispensable to both security guarantees and reconstruction. ⠀ He also pressed for a broad prisoner exchange after two days of U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi. “If there are more than 5,000 prisoners in Russia and Ukraine, what is the problem with exchanging them?” he asked, questioning why captives should remain in detention. Negotiators agreed in principle on a major exchange, but its numbers and timing were not yet finalized. ⠀ Asked about Ukrainians who had fled abroad, Zelensky said he wanted men of mobilization age to return home, while acknowledging that their reasons for leaving varied. “These are very difficult questions,” he said, citing the circumstances facing families separated by the war. ⠀ The remarks followed talks that yielded limited progress on a peace settlement. U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on November 12 before briefing Zelensky in Dublin.