Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated on Sunday that Kyiv will not surrender any territory to Moscow, pushing back against mounting international speculation about potential land-for-peace negotiations.
‘The constitution of Ukraine makes it impossible to give up territory or trade land,’ Zelenskyy said during a press conference at the European Commission on Sunday.
He added that Russia has repeatedly tried and failed to seize the entirety of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine for a period of 12 years. The Donbas, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, is an industrial hub, with coal mining and steel production central to Ukraine’s economy.
‘Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral [talks with] Ukraine, United States, Russia,’ Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian leader, who spoke alongside EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said that so far the Kremlin has ‘given no sign that the trilateral will happen.’
‘With regards to any territorial questions in Ukraine, our position is clear: international borders cannot be changed by force. These are decisions to be made by Ukraine and Ukraine alone, and these decisions cannot be taken without Ukraine at the table,’ von der Leyen said.
Their remarks came after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday, during which the Russian leader outlined conditions for ending the war, including demands for control over parts of eastern Ukraine.
Following the meeting with the Russian leader, Trump signaled that Zelenskyy should take Putin’s deal to end the war because ‘Russia is a very big power’ and Ukraine is not. Still, SSecretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed claims that Trump would pressure Zelenskyy to give up large swaths of its sovereign land to Russia.
‘The president has said that in terms of territories, these are things that Zelenskyy is going to have to decide on,’ Rubio told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’ ‘Sunday Morning Futures.’
‘All the president is trying to do here is narrow down the open issues,’ Rubio said, adding that Trump is focused on ending the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.
‘You can’t have a peace deal between two warring factions unless both sides agree to give up something. And both sides agree that the other side gets something. Otherwise, if one side gets everything they want, that’s not a peace deal. It’s called surrender. And I don’t think this is a war that’s going to end anytime soon. On the basis of surrender,’ Rubio said.
Zelenskyy said he hopes the upcoming meeting with European allies and Trump ‘will be productive,’ contrasting it with the heated Oval Office exchange during his February visit.