Zelensky warns ceding Sloviansk and Kramatorsk could open path to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia's demand that Ukraine withdraw from Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka would expose Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to a further Russian advance. He named Pavlohrad and Dnipro as possible next targets, and said the Ukrainian-held part of Donetsk Oblast is a heavily fortified defensive line that would be lost. The warning came in an English-language podcast, Diary Of A CEO.
Key points
- Zelensky said ceding Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka to Russia at its demand could allow Russian forces to advance toward Pavlohrad and Dnipro.
- He named Pavlohrad, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kryvyi Rih and Nikopol as potential further Russian targets.
- Zelensky described the Ukrainian-held part of Donetsk Oblast as a heavily fortified defensive line that would be lost with these cities.
- He estimated Russia currently occupies roughly 18–19% of Ukraine's territory.
- Zelensky cast a ceasefire as the largest compromise Ukraine and its partners have already made, and said Ukraine would seek US and European security guarantees after any freeze in fighting.
- He questioned how security guarantees would function in the event of a troop withdrawal.
- The statement was made in the English-language podcast Diary Of A CEO.
Why it matters
In an English-language podcast, Zelensky publicly linked the question of ceding three Donbas cities to a concrete risk of further Russian advance into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, naming Pavlohrad and Dnipro as likely next targets. By also listing Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kryvyi Rih and Nikopol, he widened the perceived scope of the threat well beyond Donetsk Oblast. The framing was aimed at foreign audiences weighing the costs of any territorial concession, and it tied withdrawal directly to the unresolved question of how security guarantees would operate after a pullback.
What happened
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia is demanding that Ukraine withdraw from Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka, and that handing those cities over would expose Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to a further Russian advance. He said Russian forces based in those Donbas cities could push on toward Pavlohrad and Dnipro, and named Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kryvyi Rih and Nikopol among the cities he said Russia may also be targeting. Zelensky described the part of Donetsk Oblast still controlled by Ukraine as a heavily fortified defensive line that would be lost if these cities were ceded, and estimated that Russia currently occupies roughly 18–19% of Ukraine's territory. He said a ceasefire is the largest compromise Ukraine and its partners have already made, and that Ukraine would turn to the US and Europe for security guarantees after any freeze in fighting, while questioning how those guarantees would function in the event of a withdrawal. The remarks were delivered in the English-language podcast Diary Of A CEO.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
The available sources are Ukrainian outlets based in Ukraine — including Interfax-Ukraine, LIGA.net, hromadske, Suspilne, Hromadske Radio, Novinarnia, NV and ZN.UA — and they uniformly center Zelensky's warning about the risk to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast cities. They emphasize the defensive value of the Ukrainian-held part of Donetsk Oblast and the importance of industrial cities such as Kryvyi Rih and Nikopol, and they frame Russia's demands for withdrawal as the trigger for the warned escalation.
Background
Zelensky estimated that Russia currently occupies roughly 18–19% of Ukraine's territory, and described the part of Donetsk Oblast still held by Ukraine as a heavily fortified defensive line that would be lost if these cities were handed over. He cast a ceasefire as the largest compromise Ukraine and its partners have already made, and said Ukraine would turn to the US and Europe for security guarantees after any freeze in fighting. Andriy Biletsky, commander of the 'Center' military grouping, said Russian forces temporarily halted frontal assaults on Sloviansk and Kramatorsk after Operation 'Vivaldi' but intended to resume them, identifying Dobropillia as the remaining main axis of Russian effort.