February 18, @Reference News: According to US media reports, Ukrainian President Zelensky stated on February 17, local time, that US President Trump exerted undue pressure on Ukraine while trying to promote a resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Zelensky said it was "unfair" that Trump has been publicly calling on Ukraine, rather than Russia, to make concessions to achieve peace.
Previously, British media claimed that the United States hoped that Ukraine would make concessions on territorial issues.
According to Xinhua International News, the Financial Times reported on January 27, citing multiple people familiar with the negotiations, that the U.S. government has informed Ukraine that in order to obtain U.S. security guarantees, it must first agree to a peace agreement with Russia, including giving up the Donbass region.
The report said that the United States believes that Ukraine must give up the Donbas region to end the war. Two of the people familiar with the matter disclosed that the U.S. government has stated that the United States will commit to providing Ukraine with more weapons if it agrees to withdraw its troops from areas it controls in the Donbas region.
Donbas mainly includes two regions: Donetsk and Luhansk. At this stage, the Ukrainian army still controls the "fortress belt" consisting of Kramatorsk, Slavyansk and several other cities in Donetsk.
Ukrainian President Zelensky previously stated that he hopes to sign a security agreement with the United States on Ukraine and a Ukrainian economic prosperity agreement to support Ukraine's post-war reconstruction as soon as this month. The Financial Times reported that the United States is now sending a signal to Ukraine, requiring it to reach a peace agreement with Russia before it can obtain security guarantees. Some officials from Ukraine and European countries said that the US move was intended to force Ukraine to make concessions on territorial issues.
When Ukrainian President Zelensky delivered a speech at the Munich Security Conference on February 14, he said that negotiations on the Ukraine issue sometimes involved "everyone talking about their own words" and that the United States often asked Ukraine to make concessions.
U.S. President Trump said on the 13th that Zelensky must "act" and reach an agreement with Russia, otherwise he will miss a good opportunity. When Zelensky answered a question from the host at the Munich Security Conference on the 14th, he admitted that he "somewhat" felt pressure from Trump and said that Ukraine had already made concessions in many aspects.
