Zelenskyy refuses to surrender Ukrainian land to Moscow in future peace talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy It reiterated on Sunday that Kiev will not surrender any territory to Moscow, opposing the ongoing international speculation about potential health agreement negotiations.

“The Ukrainian constitution makes it impossible to abandon territory or trade land,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference held by the European Commission on Sunday.

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He added that Russia had tried several times and failed to capture the entire Donbass region in eastern Ukraine for a period of 12 years. Donbas, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk, is an industrial hub, with coal mining and steel production at the heart of Ukrainian economy.

“Because the territorial issues are very important, it is discussed only by Ukrainian and Russian leaders on the trilateral side. [talks with] Russia Ukraine, Russia,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian leaders and EU Committee Chairman Ursula von der Leyen said so far the Kremlin “has no sign that the trilateral will happen”.

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“Our position is clear about any territorial issue in Ukraine: international borders cannot be changed by force. These are decisions made by Ukraine and Ukraine alone, and those decisions cannot be made without Ukraine at the table,” von der Leyen said.

Their comments were published after the Russian president Vladimir Putin On Friday, meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, during which Russian leaders outlined the conditions for an end to the war, including demands for control over parts of eastern Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin after arriving at Elmendorf-Richardson, Elmendorf-Richardson joint base in Anchorage, Alaska on August 15, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)

After meeting with Russian leaders trump card It marks that Zelenskyy should take Putin’s deal to end the war because “Russia is a great power” and Ukraine is not. Nevertheless, Secretary of State Marco Rubio The dismissed claim that Trump will put pressure on Zelenskyy to abandon his sovereign land to Russia.

Rubio told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News, “The president said that, in terms of territory, these are things Zelensky had to decide.”Futures on Sunday morning. ”

“Everything the president is trying to do here narrows the public issue,” Rubio said, adding that Trump is focused on ending the Kremlin war in Ukraine.

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“Unless both sides agree to give up something, you can’t reach a peace agreement between the two warring factions. And both sides agree that the other side will get something. Otherwise, if one side gets everything they want, it’s not a peaceful deal. It’s called surrender. I don’t think it’s a war that will end soon. On the basis of shipping,” Rubio said.

Zelenskyy He said he hopes the upcoming meeting with European allies and Trump “will be productive” and exchange with the heated Oval Office during his February visit.