"We Can Not Be Given Away": The Ukrainians Of Donbass Expressed Their Position On The Negotiations

The main wish is that Ukrainian land does not go to Putin.

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the administration of US President Donald Trump, have reached an impasse over the issue of control over the Donetsk region. Moscow is demanding that Kiev cede the region in exchange for a cessation of hostilities. But for some 190,000 locals, that prospect has become a cause for protest and anxiety, writes The New York Times (translated by Charter97.org).

28-year-old beauty salon owner Darya Bondareva from the Ukrainian town of Slavyansk, says she doesn't believe Russia will honor the agreements. "I don't think Ukraine will ever go for it," she notes. Residents fear the choice will be difficult - leave their homes or live under Russian occupation, which human rights activists say is accompanied by repression in other occupied areas.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has emphasized that Ukraine will not give up Donetsk region, where thousands of people have died defending the territory. He warned: a concession would violate the constitution and open the way for more Russian attacks. At the same time, he allowed for a compromise in the form of a demilitarized zone, but it is unclear whether Moscow would agree.

Russia is making slow progress, analysts say, but is trying to take advantage of population fatigue and pressure from Ukraine's allies. However, the Ukrainian military is confident it will hold the defense line. In the "fortress belt" of frontline towns - Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, Konstantinovka and others - people continue to live under constant shelling, but they have not given up hope.

Many residents, including pensioner Rafila Mirzaeva, whose house suffered from shelling, are categorically against the idea of an "exchange." "We should not be given away like cattle," she says. For most, the main wish is that their land does not become part of Russia.

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