THE NEW YORK TIMES: Zelensky rejects ceding land as US seeks ‘compromise’ on Russian demand

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday, local time, that Ukraine would not budge from its long-standing opposition to handing over land to Russia, adding that the United States was pushing Kyiv for a “compromise” on Moscow’s territorial demands.

As US-backed peace talks have languished amid clashing views over how to end the war, Mr Zelensky made clear that the issues of territory remained one of the biggest gulfs.

The Kremlin has insisted that Ukraine cede all of the eastern region known as the Donbas, including land that Moscow’s forces have been unable to capture through nearly four years of war. Mr Zelensky said Monday that Ukraine had no “legal” or “moral” right to relinquish any land.

“Of course, Russia insists that we give up territories,” Mr Zelensky said. “We, of course, do not want to give anything away. That is exactly what we are fighting for.”

He added: “The Americans today are looking for a compromise. I’ll be frank.”

Mr Zelensky made the comments in an online chat with journalists after meeting in London with leaders of Europe’s largest economies, who vowed to continue backing Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain hosted Mr Zelensky at No. 10 Downing St, along with President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, for a closed-door discussion.

In brief remarks before the meeting began, Mr Zelensky said he was there to discuss “sensitive issues” and stressed that it was critical for Europeans and Americans to unite with Ukraine in defending the country against Russia and in negotiating an end to the conflict.

“There are some things we can’t manage without Americans; things which we can’t manage without Europe,” he said. “That’s why we need to make some important decisions.”

After the meeting, Macron’s office issued a statement saying the group had worked on the US peace proposals “with a view to supplementing it with European contributions, in close coordination with Ukraine.”

The statement added that “in parallel, work will be stepped up to provide Ukraine with robust security guarantees and to plan measures for the reconstruction of Ukraine.”

The Europeans repeated their long-standing pledges of robust support for Ukraine, both on and off the battlefield. Mr Macron stated that Europe and Ukraine have “a lot of cards in our hands,” an apparent reference to President Donald Trump’s statements earlier this year that Mr Zelensky did not “have the cards” to play in negotiations with Russia on ending the war.

Mr Macron cited “the fact that Ukraine is resisting in this war, and the fact that the Russian economy is starting to suffer.”

Mr Merz said the current moment “could be a decisive time for all of us,” suggesting that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was not only devastating for that country, but posed a long-term threat to the security and stability of all of the nations in Europe.

“We all know that the destiny of this country is the destiny of Europe,” he said. “So that’s the reason why we are here trying to figure out what we can do.”

Mr Merz said he was “sceptical” about some of the provisions in the peace proposal drafted by the United States. But he said, “We have to talk about that. That’s why we are here.”

The trio of European leaders were hoping to bolster Mr Zelensky’s negotiating position in the face of what they view as unacceptable demands by President Vladimir Putin of Russia, including those involving the Donbas.

In an interview with Bloomberg News published Monday morning, Mr Zelensky said negotiations were far apart on territorial issues.

“There are visions of the US, Russia and Ukraine — and we don’t have a unified view on Donbas,” he said, referencing contested parts of eastern Ukraine.

Late Sunday, Mr Trump criticised Mr Zelensky by claiming that the Ukrainian leader had not yet read the latest version of peace proposals that emerged from hours of talks between US negotiators and Mr Putin last week.

“I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal,” Mr Trump told reporters. “His people love it, but he hasn’t.”

It was not immediately clear which “people” Mr Trump was referring to, but a previous version of a US-pushed peace plan that reflected many of the Kremlin’s demands had been broadly rejected in Ukraine.

The public there is focused less on the diplomatic efforts and more on the way the ongoing war is affecting their daily lives.

Most people in Kyiv, the country’s capital, have power for only six to nine hours a day, often at inconvenient times, such as 2-5 pm, when they are at work, and then again from 2-5am. They wake up with no power and go to bed with no power.

Mr Trump also told reporters that Russia was “fine” with the latest peace proposals.

“Russia, I guess, would rather have the whole country, when you think of it, but Russia is, I believe, fine with it,” Mr Trump said. “But I’m not sure that Zelensky is fine with it.”

In fact, neither side has embraced the Trump administration’s plan. Mr Putin said last week that parts of the US proposal to end the war were not workable. Mr Zelensky said in a social media post Saturday that he was “determined to keep working” on reaching a peace deal.

“Our approach is that everything must be workable — every crucial measure for peace, security, and reconstruction,” Mr Zelensky wrote.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

© 2025 The New York Times Company