Bild reported on Trump's pressure on Zelensky in the framework of negotiations on Ukraine

US President Donald Trump is exerting strong pressure on Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, seeking to obtain territorial concessions from him on Donbass. This was reported by Bild on December 13, citing informed sources.

"Trump <...> exerts the strongest pressure on Zelensky to persuade him to make concessions. His calculation may consist in exploiting the internal political weakness of the Ukrainian president against the background of a corruption scandal," the article says.

Negotiations on the status of Donbass are particularly difficult, according to the newspaper. Christmas may be the new end date for reaching an agreement. Trump's pressure on Zelensky is intensifying amid preparations for the Berlin summit, which will be attended by European leaders and the Ukrainian president.

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Earlier in the day, The Wall Street Journal reported that Zelensky and special envoy of the US President Stephen Witkoff will hold a meeting with representatives of the European Union (EU) in Berlin this weekend. In addition to Zelensky and Witkoff, Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are expected to attend the summit.

On December 13, Foreign Policy (FP) stated that the split of Western countries over the conflict in Ukraine indicates a strategic victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The publication points to the growing differences between the United States and Europe, which became especially noticeable after the failure of the peace talks organized by the administration of American President Donald Trump.

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