Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday ruled out the idea of ceding any territory to Russia, a key term of a US-drafted peace proposal to end the war.
“Russia is insisting that we give up territories, but we don’t want to cede anything,” Zelensky told reporters after meeting with the leaders of the UK, France, and Germany in London, according to CBS News.
“We have no legal right to do so, under Ukrainian law, our constitution, and international law. And we don’t have any moral right either,” Zelensky added.
The initial US-drafted peace proposal that was leaked to the media called for Ukraine to cede the remaining territory it controls in the Donbas region, where Russian forces continue to make gains. President Trump has previously said that it’s better to give up the area now than lose tens of thousands of troops attempting to defend it.
“Eventually, that’s land that, over the next couple of months, might be gotten by Russia anyway,” Trump said late last month. “So do you want to fight and lose another 50,000-60,000 people? Or do you want to do something now?”
Russia has made clear that it’s willing to continue the war if Ukraine doesn’t agree to its territorial demands. The other major sticking point in the negotiations is the idea of security guarantees, as Ukraine wants a NATO-style guarantee from the US, something Russia won’t go for.
“There is one question I — and all Ukrainians — want to get an answer to: if Russia again starts a war, what will our partners do?” Zelensky said on Monday before the meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Starmer and Macron have been pushing for a NATO troop deployment to a post-war Ukraine, an idea that Moscow has repeatedly rejected. European leaders have also backed Zelensky’s other positions and released a counter-proposal that removed the territorial concessions and commitments that would prevent Ukraine from joining NATO.
