Volodymyr Zelensky is between a “rock and a hard place” as he tries to balance Donald Trump ’s eagerness to secure a peace deal and public opinion, experts have said, amid reports the Ukrainian president has softened his negotiating position.

Zelensky is said to have told European leaders that he would reject any proposal in which Ukraine had to give up further territory, but that Russia could be allowed to retain some of the land it has taken, a softening of the President’s position, The Telegraph reported, citing an unnamed Western official.

The report follows Trump suggesting a future peace deal could include “some swapping of territories”.

While Ukrainians wait to see what comes out of Friday’s meeting in Alaska between Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart, they are “

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