Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not agree to surrender territory to Russia in exchange for peace, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak said in an interview with The Atlantic released on Thursday.
“As long as Zelenskyy is president, no one should count on us giving up territory. He will not sign away territory,” Yermak told the magazine, reaffirming Kiev’s longstanding position that it will not cede land seized by Russian forces.
Yermak’s statement followed Russian President Vladimir Putin's declaration that he would end Moscow’s offensive if Ukrainian troops withdrew from territories the Kremlin claims as its own — warning that, if not, Russian forces would seize them by force.
Speaking during a visit to Kyrgyzstan, Putin said: “If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations. If they don’t, then we will achieve it by military means.”
Russia currently controls about one-fifth of Ukraine, and the status of occupied land remains one of the central obstacles to the peace process.
The Russian army has continued its slow but grinding advance through eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian troops remain outnumbered and outgunned.
US peace plan
Meanwhile, Washington has renewed efforts to end the war, now nearing its fourth year, putting forward a surprise peace plan that US officials hope to refine in upcoming talks involving both Moscow and Kiev.
According to reports, an early draft of the plan — prepared without input from European allies — envisaged Ukraine withdrawing from the eastern Donetsk region and the US effectively recognising Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk as Russian territory.
Kiev has rejected any arrangement that would legitimise Russian gains.
Ukrainian officials have also said that any negotiated settlement must include Western security guarantees strong enough to deter future Russian attacks.
