Photo the moment Zelenski contracted with Trump at the White House in front of the map displayed in the Oval Office. What did the Kiev leader later reveal

The Ukrainian president said he had a long discussion with Donald Trump on the Map of the Fighting Field in Ukraine and that he contradicted Trump about the territories controlled by Moscow, writes the BBC.

Volodimir Zelenski welcomed the successful discussions with Donald Trump and European allies, talking about the security guarantees that Ukraine could receive and the possible meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, he also mentioned a more tense moment, which illustrates the obstacles that remain in a sustainable peace.

The problem that all the leaders present at the discussions seemed reluctant to approach in front of the press was the possibility of territorial concessions from Ukraine.

Trump and Zelenskyy Standing by the Same Map of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/ikwj4batod

– Saint Javelin (@saintjevelin) August 18, 2025

Zelenski said he had a long discussion with Trump about a map of the territories captured by Russia in his country and that he “contrat” with Trump “about the proportion of territory (by Russia) on the map.”

He said he explained to his American counterpart that Russia has managed to occupy less than 1% of the Ukrainian territory in the last 1,000 days.

This was a novelty for the White House, he said. And, apparently, he contributed to the change of Trump's state of mind.

“I contradicted what is on that map,” Zelensk said. “It cannot be said that so much territory has been conquered this time. These points are important,” he said.

The map appeared in the oval office

A map of Ukraine could be seen in the Oval Office on Monday, along with Presidents Trump and Zenski, who discussed the possibility of a peace after years of bloody war in Ukraine.

The map of Ukraine showed the eastern part of the country marked with pink, illustrating the territory currently controlled by Russian military forces – about 20% of the country.

From the point of view of the BBC, this represents a hard memory for the Ukrainians present in the room regarding the current situation on the battlefield.

At the short discussion with Trump and European leaders in front of the press, Zelenski said he showed the US leader some details on the map and thanked him for “this very good map”, so suggesting that the map was made available by the White House.

“It was very good, I think how to take it with me,” Zelenski joked.

Territories in the center of peace negotiations

One of the conditions imposed by Vladimir Putin at the Friday summit in Alaska assumes that Ukraine will completely give up Donbas, the industrial region of the east of the country, which Moscow claims to annexed, but which it does not fully control.

The traditional Russian-speaking area is at the head of the list of territorial and political claims of Russia, a central part of the so-called “deep causes” of the war, in the speech of the Kremlin leader.

The forces of the Kremlin and its separatist allies have conquered about 87% of this region, according to Deepate data, an Ukrainian group that monitors the evolution of the situation on the battlefield.

Moscow now wants to conquer the 2,600 square kilometers in the region that remain in the hands of Ukraine – without an armistice, the battle for Donbas will almost certainly extend until next year and will cost tens of thousands of lives, say military analysts.

Trump urged Volodimir Zelenski to accept the agreement, noting that Russia is simply a greater power.

But Zelenski refused. It is supported by the population, which seems ready to accept the freezing of the front lines, but not the surrender of the additional territories.

Since the large -scale invasion of 2022, Moscow illegally annexed four Ukrainian regions after organizing referendums denounced as false.

The four regions are Donetsk, Luhansk, Herson and Zaporojie. Of the four regions, Russia completely controls only one, Luhansk.