🇺🇦🇷🇺Ukraine vs Russia

‘Leave Donbas and We’ll Build a Paradise’: US Pressure on Ukraine Grows

Officials close to President Volodymyr Zelensky warn Washington could walk away from the process and shift focus to Iran if no breakthrough is reached.

Kyiv Post

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24. März 2026

3 min read

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The United States is pressing Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the Donetsk region, according to sources close to ongoing talks, as negotiations show little progress.

Officials warn Washington could walk away from the process and shift focus to Iran if no breakthrough is reached.

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“The Americans don’t see where we can reach an agreement,” a source close to President Volodymyr Zelensky told Ukrainska Pravda after the latest talks on March 21-22. “This could push them to leave the process altogether.”

The US has suggested it could offer security guarantees – but only if Ukraine pulls out of Donbas, the source said.

“I can’t imagine how that would work in Ukraine,” the official added.

Talks remain shaped by earlier contacts between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, which Moscow continues to reference.

“It feels like there are three sides, but Ukraine is arguing with ‘Anchorage,’” another source said. “No matter what we discuss, it always comes back to the Americans saying: ‘Leave Donbas, and we’ll build a paradise for you, as agreed in Alaska.’”

The presence of Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk region remains the central sticking point.

“Our side is spending a huge amount of time trying to move the discussion away from withdrawal,” one insider said. “But it goes in circles. We keep hearing the same thing: ‘You need to leave.’”

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Ukraine’s reliance on Western funding is adding pressure.

“If the EU doesn’t find a solution, we may still have money for the army, but not for social payments later this year,” a senior official said.

Despite tensions, there are limited signs of progress. Following the latest US-Ukraine talks in Florida, Zelensky said prisoner exchanges with Russia may continue, while Rustem Umerov, head of the National Security and Defense Council confirmed further talks with US officials.

At the same time, Zelensky admitted that Washington’s focus is currently divided.

“It is clear that the US side’s attention at the moment is focused primarily on the situation surrounding Iran and the wider region, but Russia’s war against Ukraine must also be brought to an end,” he said.

Talks on pause

Separate trilateral talks between Russia, the United States, and Ukraine are currently on hold, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on March 19.

“The trilateral group is on pause,” Peskov said, adding that contacts with Kyiv continue on humanitarian issues, including exchanges of prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers.

Ukraine has also confirmed delays. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhiy Tykhy said several rounds of consultations had been postponed, but not cancelled.

“They haven’t been canceled or abandoned, just delayed,” Tykhy said, adding that communication between the parties remains ongoing.

The negotiations have slowed amid rising tensions in the Middle East, which have shifted Washington’s focus.

Key issues remain unresolved. Russia continues to demand that Ukraine withdraw from territories in the east that Russia has not been able to seize in 12 years of war – a condition Kyiv has rejected.