Zelensky learned about the discussion of territorial swaps before Trump’s announcement and concealed it – NYT

Volodymyr Zelensky learned that the United States was discussing a possible territorial exchange with Russia even before U.S. President Donald Trump publicly announced it.

This was reported by The New York Times, citing sources.

According to Oleksandr Kraiev, director of the North America program at the Kyiv-based think tank “Ukrainian Prism,” Kyiv concealed Washington’s proposal to Russia, fearing public backlash, since most Ukrainians oppose giving up territories not yet under Moscow’s control.

Initially, as the paper writes citing sources, Trump did not clearly explain to Ukraine what he had agreed on with Vladimir Putin. After last week’s meeting between Steven Witkoff and Putin, the U.S. president stated that Moscow was ready to halt hostilities under a deal involving a territorial exchange between Russia and Ukraine, and that he would meet with Putin to discuss such an agreement.

When Ukraine tried to clarify the details of the deal, Trump “was vague in his answers, leaving it unclear which territories might be exchanged.”

Zelensky instructed his aides to find out more. Last Thursday they spoke with European counterparts and Witkoff, but Trump’s special representative also gave “confusing explanations,” so on Friday the Ukrainians called again to try to clarify the matter.

Only then did it become clear that Moscow was not offering to give up any territories it had already seized, but was instead demanding that Kyiv relinquish all of Donbas in exchange for a ceasefire that would freeze the current front lines elsewhere.

The Russian proposal did not satisfy Ukraine, and Kyiv sought to convince the Americans that it was dangerous — that it would simply strengthen Russia’s position for a future offensive. Zelensky publicly commented on and rejected the plan on Saturday, after Trump announced the territorial exchange proposal on Friday.

However, NYT believes that Zelensky did not completely rule out the possibility of a territorial swap, telling journalists this week that it was “a very complex issue that cannot be separated from Ukraine’s security guarantees.”

A senior Ukrainian official said that the Americans listened closely to the arguments from Ukraine and Europe throughout the week, but no one still knows what position Trump will take at his meeting with Putin.