The Daily Populous Sunday August 17th, 2025 morning edition
Authored by pravda.com.ua and submitted by TheRealMykola

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told his US counterpart Donald Trump that Kyiv rejects a demand put forward by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to cede the still-unoccupied areas of Donetsk Oblast to Russia in exchange for freezing the front in other regions, Reuters has reported.

Details: According to a source, Trump told Zelenskyy that Putin had offered to "freeze most front lines" in return for Ukraine giving Russia all of Donetsk Oblast.

"Zelenskyy rejected the demand, the source said," Reuters reported.

Reuters’ sources also confirmed that European leaders have been invited to take part in the talks between Trump and Zelenskyy on Monday.

Previously: Earlier on Saturday, The New York Times also reported that Zelenskyy and European leaders are strongly opposed to any concession of unoccupied Donbas territory, which also contains key defensive positions and is rich in mineral resources.

jesal on August 16th, 2025 at 23:00 UTC »

“This could have been an email.”

Mosin_999 on August 16th, 2025 at 22:42 UTC »

And next, trump blames zelensky for being an obstacle to peace. We have seen this play out before.

Syronxc on August 16th, 2025 at 22:41 UTC »

Good. Because we all know that “freezing the front” just gives Russia more time to rebuild for their next invasion.