'Zelensky and the Europeans should be a part of the decision-making process'

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00:00Small bands of Russian soldiers thrust deeper into eastern Ukraine this Tuesday.

00:03Their advance came at the coal manning town of Dobropilya,

00:07a 10-kilometre push according to Ukraine's Deep State war mapping site.

00:11Deep State saying that the Russians had searched forward near three villages

00:14on a section of the front line associated with the Ukrainian towns of Kostovrenivka and Pokrovsk,

00:20which Moscow is trying to encircle by exploiting Kiev's perceived lack of manpower.

00:27Now, this all comes ahead of a summit this week between Russian President Vladimir Putin

00:30and US President Donald Trump, which European Union states fear could end in peace terms

00:36imposed on an unlawfully shrunken Ukrainian state.

00:41Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky, their president, is still not invited to take part in the discussions.

00:49While Ukrainians are rejecting any suggestion that they should give up land to Putin's Russia,

00:53President Zelensky has repeated his position that no territory will be given away to the invaders.

00:58Brian Quinn with this.

01:02Donald Trump's ambition for a peace deal in Ukraine putting pressure on Volodymyr Zelensky.

01:07As he prepares to meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday,

01:11the US president expressed his ire at Zelensky's insistence that ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia

01:16is impossible, as it would violate his country's constitution.

01:20I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelensky was saying,

01:24well, I have to get constitutional approval.

01:26I mean, he's got approval to go into war and kill everybody,

01:30but he needs approval to do a land swap, because there'll be some land swapping going on.

01:36Ukraine currently holds no Russian territory,

01:39meaning that a swap would likely involve Kiev signing over its own territory

01:44in exchange for the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian land they have conquered elsewhere.

01:50Since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022,

01:53Russia has officially annexed four provinces of eastern Ukraine,

01:57Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson.

02:00Beyond Crimea, which the Kremlin annexed in 2014,

02:03Luhansk is the only one over which it claims full territorial control.

02:08Russian forces, though, are continuing their slow but steady advance.

02:12There is no sign that the Russians are preparing for a post-war situation.

02:18On the contrary, they are moving their troops and forces to launch new offensive operations.

02:24Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff has previously suggested that Ukraine give up

02:29all of Donetsk and Luhansk in exchange for a ceasefire,

02:32a scenario that would give Russia recognized control over a strategic industrial region

02:37that could be a launching point for a renewed invasion later on.

02:40Western analysts worry that the very format of the Alaska talks heavily favors Moscow

02:46and could leave Kiev with little room to maneuver.

02:50Let's bring in Oleg Shamshur, who's Ukraine's former ambassador to France.

02:55Mr Shamshur, thank you very much for joining us here in France 24.

02:56We appreciate your time.

02:58I'm wondering what your thoughts are ahead of this meeting between Trump and Putin.

03:02Clearly, Vladimir Zelenskyy needs to take part.

03:05First of all, thank you for the invitation.

03:11Definitely looks like the principle of nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine

03:17has been accepted by all our partners and allies.

03:22Now it's, again, in question.

03:26And unfortunately, President Zelenskyy definitely is not a part of the process of preparation for these talks.

03:40And it definitely is not part of the talks.

03:43But I think that even more important that Donald Trump comes into this negotiation with Putin

03:57if he really wants to speak about peace in Ukraine, acceptable for Ukraine,

04:08not contradicting its national interest.

04:11He should coordinate the position with the European allies and with Ukraine

04:19and apply pressure on Putin.

04:22If it is not happening, there is really a very big danger of some kind of the plan.

04:29And unfortunately, the peace plan presented for some time elements of it by Trump himself,

04:37but mostly by members of his foreign policy team doesn't differ too much from the demands of Putin.

04:46And it creates even more danger for Ukraine and more disturbing climate leading up to this meeting.

04:59Vladimir Putin so far has made basically no concessions, as you pointed out.

05:05And as we're going into this important meeting, it looks very much like things may be decided in Russia's favour,

05:11unless the pressure from European leaders comes to bear on Trump.

05:17And Vladimir Zelenskyy is allowed to attend in some way, shape or form to state Ukraine's case

05:21and to be a voice in the conversation.

05:24Zelenskyy today saying that no land will be given up.

05:27There's no question of that happening.

05:29Is that realistic, do you think?

05:31Is that a realistic position?

05:32Will Ukraine have to accept that some land will be conceded, given away as part of any agreement?

05:38First of all, I would like to say that you mentioned that Zelenskyy should be invited to some stage.

05:47No, it's actually to serve no absolute no purpose if the device can cut some kind of a plan

05:55and then present as a fait accompli to Zelenskyy and European partners.

06:01Zelenskyy and the Europeans should be part of the decision-making process, as I said before.

06:09No matter what is being said, it should be understood that any concession to Putin

06:15and allowing him to conserve his territorial land grabs since 2014,

06:25but especially, I would say, during this war would mean that we would be speaking only a possible termination

06:34of this stage of the war, and that will be the prelude to becoming the war and all European institutions.

06:43So it means that the reality of the war in five years, for example, General Burkhardt of France,

06:57is, well, it looks very realistic.

07:00And the Europeans, and not only Europeans should understand that the security of Europe is being decided now in Ukraine.

07:07That's why now we need, I would say, the surso of which Macron spoke some time ago,

07:16in order to exert pressure on Putin and to create a necessary and, I would say,

07:25favorable negotiating positions for Ukraine and its European partners.

07:31Are you surprised that Donald Trump, having observed that Vladimir Putin doesn't do what he says he will do,

07:38he'll say one thing to Trump, then he'll go and bomb Ukraine,

07:40he'll say he wants peace and then he'll go and bomb Ukraine.

07:43Are you surprised that Donald Trump is still being very conciliatory towards Putin,

07:49that the United States is still basically almost giving him everything he wants?

07:53I'm not surprised at all.

07:57And I was voicing this concern from the very beginning.

08:02To understand the position and the behavior of Trump,

08:07there are some things that should be taken into account.

08:11Firstly, he would like to finish this war so he would be able to concentrate on others,

08:19as he thinks, more important issues.

08:21And he is ready to do it no matter what, including violating the interests of Ukraine,

08:28which he thinks are really not that important or totally non-important for the United States.

08:37Secondly, he would like to see the termination of the war in Ukraine as a part of a broader picture.

08:47And he said about it himself, a picture of reforming, improving the relations with Russia,

08:55realizing with Russia some super economic projects,

09:00and also using Russia to revamp the rules of the international politics in general,

09:08and also to drag Russia off the sphere of the Chinese influence.

09:17All those goals, I think, are total illusions, but those are illusions dear to Trump's heart.

09:25There are those things which, to my mind, should be taken into account in order to understand the behavior of Donald Trump.

09:38And he is clinging to the possibility, opportunity, to speak to Putin as a part,

09:46not as a form, as a necessary, not speaking about before.

09:51That's why all his threats to exert, to apply some, well, I would say,

10:00super sanctions against Russia and the secondary sanctions,

10:05that they have remained, the phrases, some, the bubbles.

10:10While he was, he jumped on the opportunity presented by Putin as soon as he aired this idea for the bilateral meeting

10:20and maybe discussing some issues which, in Trump's mind, would lead to termination of the war in Ukraine.

10:30Those are illusions, but again, they, these are illusions,

10:36goes, and they correspond to the intentions and beliefs of Donald Trump, unfortunately.

10:44Oleg Shamshur, former ambassador to France for Ukraine.

10:48Thank you, sir, for joining us.

10:49Thank you for sharing your interpretation of how things might go.

10:52Pleasure speaking to you, sir.

10:53And let's hope there is an outcome that is more favorable than the one that you are outlining there for your country.

10:59That's Oleg Shamshur, Ukraine's former ambassador to France.

11:02We, of course, are watching all developments, both diplomatically and on the ground in Ukraine.

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