Warsaw: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has firmly stated that no nation should pressure Ukraine into relinquishing territory to Russia as part of a peace agreement. "None of us should exert pressure on (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy on the issue of territorial concessions. Everybody should pressure Russia to cease aggression. Concessions have never been the path to just and lasting peace," Tusk wrote on the US social media company X late on Sunday. His comments come in the wake of reports suggesting that Washington has urged Kyiv to contemplate ceding parts of eastern Ukraine to strike a deal with Moscow.

According to Anadolu Agency, The Washington Post reported that US envoy Steve Witkoff allegedly pressed a Ukrainian delegation during a White House meeting on Friday to consider the loss of the Donbas region as part of a potential settlement. This report was in line with a Fox Business interview aired Sunday, where US President Donald Trump mentioned that Russian President Vladimir Putin "is going to take something," adding, "He's won certain property."

The Donbas region, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk, has been central to the conflict since 2014, when Russian-backed separatists established breakaway republics following Russia's annexation of Crimea. Russian forces further extended their control over much of the area after initiating a "special operation" in February 2022.

In an upcoming diplomatic development, Trump and Putin are anticipated to meet in Budapest to discuss possible resolutions to the ongoing war.