Ukraine Refuses to Cede Territory to Russia
Kyiv – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that his country is unwilling to hand over territory to Russia. Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin confirmed that he would take the entire Donbas region of Ukraine.
Zelensky expressed his opposition to giving up territory in any deal aimed at ending Moscow’s invasion of Kyiv. The war has been ongoing for almost four years.
“Did we imagine giving up territory? We have no legal right to do so, based on Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law. And we also don’t have any moral right,” Zelensky said in a recent press conference as reported by AFP on Tuesday (2025/12/09).
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Zelensky said the United States (US), which is mediating between Ukraine and Russia, is trying to find a compromise on this issue.He said Russia was the party that insisted on seizing territory.
“Russia insists that we give up territory, but we don’t want to give up anything. We are fighting for it, as you know,” he said.
“There are difficult issues related to territory and so far,there has been no compromise,” he continued.
A senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity, but who is familiar with the ongoing negotiations, told AFP that Ukraine’s territorial issue was the “most problematic.”