𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Vladimir Putin has demanded Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donetsk as part of any ceasefire deal potentially brokered by Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president said Putin wanted the the remaining 30 per cent, or 3,500 square miles, of the eastern region which has seen some of the fiercest fighting in the three-and-a-half-year-old war.

Losing the rest of Donetsk would give Russia control of almost the entirety of the Donbas, the collective name for Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland that also includes neighbouring Luhansk.

Zelensky vowed Ukraine would “never leave” the Donbas and warned Putin’s troops could use it as a spring board for a future invasion.

“We will not leave Donbas. We cannot do this. Everyone forgets the first part – our territories are illegally occupied. Donbas for the Russians is a springboard for a future new offensive,” he said.

Zelensky said he learned of Russia’s position after holding a call with Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff, after Witkoff’s bilateral meeting with Putin.

Debris from a destroyed drone sparked a small fire that was later extinguished at the Slavyansk oil refinery in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, the local administration said this morning.

“There are casualties reported,” officials said. “The fire was promptly extinguished. Emergency and special services are working at the scene,” they said.

The Slavyansk refinery is a private plant with a capacity of around 100,000 barrels per day. It supplies fuel for both domestic use and export.