Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday his country will not make territorial concessions to Russia as the Trump administration looks to broker a peace deal between the two countries.
Zelenskyy told reporters following a meeting with leaders from France, Germany and the U.K. in London that Ukraine has “no right to give anything away” — under Ukrainian, international or moral law — according to The Washington Post.
Zelenskyy’s comments come as the Ukrainian leader faces growing pressure from the U.S. to accept a framework to bring to an end more than three years of fighting since Russia escalated its war with Ukraine in 2022.
The first draft of that framework drew skepticism from Ukrainian and European leaders — as well as bipartisan lawmakers in the U.S. — after a leaked draft echoed several key Russian demands, including that Ukraine agree to give up the Donbas region and agree not to join NATO.
Peace talks between the U.S. and Ukraine have since hit a roadblock as the Trump administration insists that Kyiv cede the region in eastern Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said ahead of his trip to London that Ukrainian representatives had held “substantive discussions” with U.S. peace envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, but he added that “the conversation was constructive, though not easy.”
