As negotiations to end Russia’s war against Ukraine grind forward in Geneva and other diplomatic venues, President Zelenskyy has voiced a frustration that is becoming more explicit: Washington, in Kyiv’s view, appears to be pressing Ukraine harder than Russia to make concessions. “The Americans often return to the topic of concessions, and too often those concessions are discussed only in the context of Ukraine, not Russia,” Zelenskyy said recently.

His remarks underscore a widening perception gap between Kyiv and Washington particularly under President Trump over the urgency of a possible peace deal with President Putin.

At the core of Zelenskyy’s concern are three issues: “Territory, Elections and Security guarantees”. Together, they shape why Ukraine believes the US is accelerating talks on a timeline driven more by American politics than battlefield realities — and why Ukraine fears being cornered into “compromises” that could cost it dearly in the long term.

The Timeline: An American Political Clock

Zelenskyy has suggested that President Trump’s desire to end the war by early summer is tied to domestic political calculations in the US, particularly as midterm elections approach. From Kyiv’s vantage point, this creates pressure for speed. 

“Of course, it is desirable for us that the Americans do not leave,” Zelenskyy said, acknowledging Ukraine’s dependence on US military, financial and diplomatic support. But he also warned that US is “likely to put pressure on the parties according to that timeline.”

The Territory Concessions 

The most contentious issue in negotiations is land, particularly the eastern Donbas region, including the still-contested parts of Donetsk. Dividing Ukraine today would not bring lasting peace but instead embolden further aggression…It would be an illusion to believe that this war can now be reliably ended by dividing Ukraine,” argues Zelenskyy, adding that sacrificing Czechoslovakia did not save Europe from World War II. This analogy is not rhetorical, but it signals Kyiv’s deepest fear: that territorial concessions now could institutionalize instability and invite future invasions.

According to Zelenskyy, Putin has effectively sought full control over Donbas in exchange for ending the war — “Give me all of Donbas, and I’ll end the war.”

American negotiators, Zelenskyy has indicated, have at times revisited ideas such as Ukrainian withdrawal from the remaining areas of Donetsk it controls, potentially converting them into a “free economic zone.” Ukraine has rejected unilateral pullbacks and........

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