NYT: Ukrainian negotiators floated naming Russian-held Donbas slice Donnyland to flatter Trump and stiffen US position
Ukrainian negotiators have privately suggested to US counterparts that the still-contested portion of
The flag-and-ChatGPT-anthem detail is what matters: per a single NYT exclusive citing people familiar with the negotiations, unconfirmed by Ukrainian officials, Kyiv's team has concluded Trump's Russia-policy direction is not amenable to substantive territorial argument, leaving vanity reframing as the available lever. The leak almost certainly damages the Ukrainian-US negotiating channel within the next two weeks as the White House reads it as ridicule, while very likely strengthening European alignment with Ukrainian positions over the coming weeks by making Kyiv's distress legible to partners already extending deterrence cooperation eastward. The harder inference is that the leak is itself evidence: Kyiv has already decided Trump was not moved by such framings during earlier sessions.