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Zelenskyy Says Donbas Goes Beyond Territory in a War for “Survival and Endurance”
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy framed the fate of Donbas as central to the outcome of Russia's war, responding to a question about the region during talks with US President Donald Trump's envoys, according to a UNITED24 Media correspondent in Kyiv on September 6.
He made the remarks as envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv to negotiate an end to the war. Asked about Donbas, Zelenskyy stressed that the issue reached beyond the territory.
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"The question of Donbas is not only a question of Donbas," he stated, describing the war with Russia as a matter of survival and endurance.
He tied Ukraine's diplomatic options directly to its standing on the front. "Without a strong position on the battlefield ... there will be only ultimatums," Zelenskyy warned.
The president argued that Ukrainian forces had stabilized the front, creating the conditions for negotiation. Diplomacy was possible today only because of that position, he indicated.
Zelenskyy identified the east as the decisive theater, where Russia has concentrated additional troops. He anticipated that Moscow would launch a fresh wave of mobilization after its elections, directed at that front.
Ukraine had grown stronger over the past 10 to 12 months, he assessed, though he cautioned that winter presented a serious challenge.
Financing ran through his broader concerns. Zelenskyy described funding for the military, humanitarian needs, and domestic defense production as pressing and interconnected.
Witkoff, appearing alongside Kushner after the Kyiv talks, pointed to momentum in the negotiations. He reported progress from the delegation's meeting in Moscow and raised the prospect of a three-way meeting.
"You heard President Zelenskyy talk about a trilateral that we're hopeful will be announced in short order," Witkoff noted. He described collaboration among the parties as critical, citing the presence of national security advisers from the E3—France, Germany, and the United Kingdom —in Kyiv.
Witkoff acknowledged that any settlement would demand concessions from both sides. "It's going to take both sides to make some compromises and narrow the issues between them," he added, expressing hope for a peaceful diplomatic resolution.
The diplomatic push has moved quickly in recent days. On September 5, Witkoff and Kushner held talks with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, for 3 hours and 10 minutes in Moscow before traveling to Kyiv. The Moscow meeting focused on approaches to ending the war and preceded a temporary arrangement under which Russia was to halt strikes on Kyiv for three days.
Even so, Russian forces continued aerial attacks on September 5, launching 167 drones alongside ballistic missiles despite Kyiv's proposed reciprocal air truce.
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