#Donbas

#Donbas

United States President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and said the two leaders were getting a lot closer, maybe very close to a deal to end the war in Ukraine. Trump and Zelenskyy reported progress on two of the most contentious issues in the peace talks: security guarantees for Ukraine and the division of eastern Ukraine's Donbas region that Russia has sought to capture.

Just before Zelensky and his delegation arrived at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, the U.S. and Russian presidents spoke in a call described as "productive" by Trump and "friendly" by Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov. Ushakov, in Moscow, said Putin told Trump a 60-day ceasefire proposed by the European Union and Ukraine would prolong the war. The Kremlin aide also said Ukraine needs to make a quick decision about land in the Donbas.

A lot can be decided before the New Year,

Citing European officials briefed on the exchange, the report said Trump adopted Russian President Vladimir Putin's talking points verbatim, warning the Ukrainian leader that if [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you. According to the newspaper, Trump threw aside Ukrainian battlefield maps and demanded that Zelensky accept Moscow's terms, including ceding the Donbas region in exchange for partial Russian concessions in southern Ukraine.