Zelensky: To Give Up Donetsk Region Was Suggested By Whitkoff

• 20.10.2025, 15:38

The Ukrainian president explained to him the absurdity of Putin's arguments.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that at a meeting in Washington it was the US presidential special envoy Steve Whitkoff who mentioned the possibility of Ukraine giving up Donetsk region, unian.net.

The president noted that he explained to Whitkoff the absurdity of the Russian Federation's arguments, which are covered by "referendums".

"I told him clearly that there is some misleading impression. The fact is that the Russians say that they have held an alleged referendum among Russian people in Donbass and they supposedly want to go to Russia. But first there was an occupation, and then something uncontrolled and clearly illegal took place, which they called a "referendum". And I say that these signals of the Russians are so far from reality that 10 years passed between the beginning of the occupation and the so-called 'referendum'," Zelensky said.

He said that Whitkoff referred to the fact that the results of these "referendums" are included in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. To which he received a direct reply:

"If Putin were to introduce something else tomorrow, after this or that war ends, would we have to withdraw from some territory again? And if I introduce into the Constitution of Ukraine, for example, two regions of the Russian Federation, will they withdraw from these territories?"