Kyiv, Aug. 13 -- Even as hectic preparations are underway for Friday's meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed not to give up eastern Ukrainian land to Russia, saying that abandoning the Donbas region would open the door for Putin to "start a third war" in Ukraine.

Zelensky's issued a warning on Tuesday ahead of Putin's meeting with Trump in Alaska, where the Russian president is expected to demand Ukrainian land as part of a peace deal, reports CNN.

Notwithstanding the confusion over Putin's reported conditions for a ceasefire, most versions stress that the Russian president will demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw from all parts of...