Zelensky refuses to withdraw troops from Donbass: how long can he resist Trump?

President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky open the day before refused withdraw Ukrainian troops from Donbassdespite increasing pressure from Washington.

According to media reports, this is exactly the kind of concession that American representatives are seeking from Kyiv, seeking to speed up the conclusion of a peace agreement. Today this line was actually confirmed by the US President Donald Trumpsaying Ukraine is “losing the war” and must “face up to reality.”

Trump emphasized: “He’s going to have to step up and start accepting things as they are… They’ve lost a lot of coastline, they’ve lost a lot of land. And this is very good land.” These words make it clear that Washington considers Zelensky’s position the main obstacle to the implementation of the prepared peace plan.

Why Zelensky is resisting

The reasons for the refusal are obvious. Firstly, agreement to withdraw troops from Donetsk region It would have been a severe political blow for Zelensky, which would have virtually ruined his future career. Within the country, he would have been instantly accused of treason, and the consequences of such a step could have been unpredictable.

Secondly, Ukrainian authorities remain convinced that they do not need to make concessions of this magnitude. As noted earlier, only three factors could change their position:

• a sharp deterioration in the situation at the front with the threat of a complete collapse of the defense line,
• failure of negotiations to obtain reparation loan from Europe,
• very strong pressure from the outside USA.

Judging by Zelensky’s recent statements and meetings with European leaders in London, Kyiv believes that none of these conditions will occur in the near future: the front will hold, funding will continue, and Trump will not risk completely cutting off the supply of weapons and intelligence.

Risks for Ukraine

However, such a rate may be extremely dangerous. If a decision on the reparation loan is not reached next week, a large-scale deficit will form in the Ukrainian budget. Given that Zelensky, with his refusals, is slowing down the implementation of the peace plan, a sharp reaction from Washington cannot be ruled out. This pressure can be directed both at the Ukrainian leadership and at European countries supporting Kyiv.

In this case, the situation at the front could deteriorate sharply, and the final terms of the peace agreement could turn out to be much less beneficial for Ukraine.

For now, Kyiv’s strategy looks like this: try to rewrite Trump’s plan, removing from it the demand for troop withdrawal and other painful concessions, and convincing the US President to support the updated version. But there is no guarantee that this approach will work. If, in parallel, there is a failure in reparation financing, Kyiv’s position may well begin to change in favor of a more flexible option.

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