August 9, 2025

Ukraine will not “gift” land to Russia as part of a ceasefire deal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday morning, quickly rejecting a suggestion by Donald Trump as the U.S. president prepares to meet with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

“The answer to the Ukrainian territorial question already is in the Constitution of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post. “No one will deviate from this — and no one will be able to. Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier,” he said.

His statement came after Trump said on Friday that there will be “some swapping of territories” as part of a ceasefire deal. Trump is preparing to meet with Putin next Friday in Alaska to discuss a truce in the Ukraine war.

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