Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged allies not to appease Russia after returning from a trip to the United States where he failed to secure long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. Writing on social media, Zelenskyy said: 'Ukraine will never grant terrorists any bounty for their crimes, and we count on our partners to uphold this very position.'
The Ukrainian leader called for decisive steps from European and American allies and proposed another meeting of the Europe-led 'coalition of the willing'. He had flown to Washington hoping to capitalise on Donald Trump's growing frustration with Vladimir Putin, but left empty-handed as Trump eyed a fresh diplomatic effort.
According to sources briefed on the discussion, Trump pushed Zelenskyy to give up swaths of territory to Russia during a tense meeting at the White House. One source described the encounter as 'pretty bad', with the message that Ukraine would 'freeze' and 'be destroyed' if it did not make a deal. A separate source denied Trump said Ukraine would be destroyed but confirmed he used profanity.
The sources said US officials, including special envoy Steve Witkoff, proposed a territorial swap in which Ukraine would cede Donetsk and Luhansk in return for parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. This followed a call between Trump and Putin, during which Putin reportedly proposed the swap.
Meanwhile, Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure. Zelenskyy reported that in the past week, Russia used more than 3,270 attack drones, 1,370 guided aerial bombs, and nearly 50 missiles against Ukraine. On Sunday, two people were killed and more than a dozen wounded in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine has intensified strikes on Russian border regions and oil and gas facilities. A drone strike forced a Gazprom plant in the Orenburg region to stop refining supplies from Kazakhstan. The Russian army claimed to have captured two villages in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
