Zelensky rejects land swap idea floated by Trump

Ukraine’s territorial integrity remains non-negotiable, the country’s leader Vladimir Zelensky insists.

Ukraine’s leader Vladimir Zelensky on Saturday reiterated his commitment to the country’s territorial integrity, confirming that Kiev still lays claim to all the formerly Ukrainian territories now incorporated into Russia.

The remarks come shortly after US President Donald Trump suggested a potential peace deal between Moscow and Kiev could involve “swapping of territories” between Moscow and Kiev “to the betterment of both.”

Zelensky firmly rejected the idea of making any territorial concessions, claiming that was exactly what Russian President Vladimir Putin was after, and accusing him of seeking to exchange a “pause in war” for the “legalization of occupation of our land.”

“Now Putin wants to be forgiven for seizing the south of our Kherson region, Zaporozhye, the entire territory of Lugansk region, Donetsk region, and Crimea. We will not allow Russia to make this second attempt to divide Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a video address.

Crimea broke away from Ukraine in early 2014 in the aftermath of the Maidan coup in Kiev that toppled then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. The peninsula joined Russia via a referendum shortly after, with the idea overwhelmingly backed by locals. Four other territories were incorporated into Russia in late 2022 after a series of referendums held independently in each region.

The Russian military has recently liberated the entire territory of the Lugansk People’s Republic, while the control over three other new regions remains partial. Apart from that, Moscow’s forces hold patches of land along the border in the Ukrainian regions of Kharkov and Sumy. The Russian military took the latter earlier this year after the defeat and the expulsion of the Ukrainian invasion force that attacked Russia’s Kursk Region last August.

Moscow has demanded a full withdrawal of the Ukrainian troops from the territories it claims as its own, reiterating the position in a draft memorandum outlining Moscow’s roadmap toward ending the conflict during recent direct talks with Kiev hosted by Türkiye.