Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday went to the frontlines — less that two miles from Russian positions — to prove Kyiv’s forces are still very much in the fight to keep the Donbas as Russian dictator Vladimir Putin attempts to convince peace negotiators that the region is a lost cause.

Zelensky made the dramatic appearance at the battlefront of Kupiansk, defying Russian claims in late November that the city had been seized, recording a video clearly showing off his location by the bullet-scarred sign marking the city’s entrance in a not-going-anywhere message.

“Ukraine is defending its positions. And the stronger our defense on the front line, the stronger our positions will be in negotiations,” Zelensky posted to X, referencing the latest weekslong push by the US to secure a peace deal to end the war.

“Ukraine is doing everything to end the war with dignity and respect – for our warriors, for our entire state, and for every hero of ours who gave their life defending Ukraine. Our memory of Ukrainian heroes is also a key part of our negotiating stance. Ukraine must be respected,” he added.

It comes as the US is attempting to settle the war and one of its most contentious issues — dividing up territory. Ukraine has refused to formally recognize any Ukrainian land as Russian, but may be open to compromise through creative workarounds, such as establishing a de-militarized zone.

But as the US seeks to hash out the land situation — with President Trump on Thursday night comparing it to “a complex real estate deal times 1,000” — conflicting narratives of the situation on the ground complicate matters.

The Institute for the Study of War last week accused Putin of using “cognitive warfare” to make the world to believe the tide is turning its way, but the truth on the ground is murkier as the battlefield constantly shifts.

“ISW continues to assess that while the situation in some specific sectors of the front line is serious, particularly in the Pokrovsk and Hulyaipole directions, the Kremlin’s efforts to present Russia’s victory in Ukraine as inevitable do not correspond to battlefield realities,” ISW wrote, referencing a Dec. 1 claim by Putin to have captured the city of Pokrovsk in the Donbas.

“The Kremlin may have announced the seizure of Pokrovsk prematurely on December 1 — as it has for numerous other settlements in Ukraine — as part of a cognitive warfare effort in order to shape the US-Russian negotiations in Moscow on December 2,” it added.

Moscow’s pace of advance is still slightly faster than last year — an estimated 1,761 square miles occupied this year, up from 1,441 in 2024, based on ISW mapping.

Still, the US is urgently trying to work out a peace deal, working with Kyiv and Moscow on potential economic partnerships and security guarantees that may make it easier for both parties to swallow the bitter pill of addressing the territory sticking point, US and Ukrainian officials have told The Post.