Can Donetsk and Luhansk decide Ukraine’s fate? Putin names his price at Alaska Summit with Trump, Zelenskyy pushes back

At the Alaska summit with Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin demanded Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk as a condition to end the war. In return, he offered to freeze the frontline in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Trump later passed the proposal to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who firmly rejected it and called for tougher sanctions if Russia evaded peace. European allies reaffirmed that Ukraines borders must not be altered by force and are set to coordinate further peace efforts before Zelenskyys Washington visit.