Zelensky denied Kiev's proposal to rename Donbass to Donnyland

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky rejected information that Kiev had proposed renaming part of Donbass to "Donnyland" in honor of US President Donald Trump. This was reported by The Guardian newspaper on April 23.

According to the Ukrainian leader, this word was not used by the Security Council during negotiations on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.

"During my negotiations, no other terms were used except "Donetsk region", "Luhansk region", "our Donbass" or "territory of Ukraine". Accordingly, there are documents that confirm this," Zelensky said.

He stressed that the priority for Kiev remains the preservation of the regions by Ukrainian territory.

Keeping the pause: when will the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine resume

Moscow is ready for a new meeting with Kiev and Washington, but it is postponed due to the conflict in the Middle East.

The New York Times (NYT) reported on April 21 that Ukrainian officials suggested that the United States name a part of Donbass "Donnyland" in honor of Trump in order to gain his support. It was noted that the proposal reflects a global reality in which governments appeal to the vanity of the American president in order to attract Washington's might to their side.

Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Konstantin Dolgov said a day later that Kiev should also be called differently after such statements. The diplomat also called such proposals "mockery and banter", urging not to pay attention to them.