Andriy Yermak’s comments come as Putin says Russia will fight on unless Kyiv withdraws from territory. What we know on day 1,374
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not agree to give up land to Russia in exchange for peace, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak told US magazine the Atlantic in an interview published on Thursday. “As long as Zelenskyy is president, no one should count on us giving up territory. He will not sign away territory,” Yermak said.
The comments were published after Vladimir Putin said Russia will fight on unless Kyiv withdraws from territory Moscow claims as its own. Referring to the outline of a draft peace plan proposed by the US, Putin said it could serve as a basis for future negotiations to end the war but insists Ukraine has to surrender territory. “In general, we agree that this can be the basis for future agreements,” Putin said, noting that the version of the plan discussed by Washington and Kyiv in Geneva had been shared with Moscow. “We see that the American side takes our position into account in some areas,” he added. “But in other points, we clearly need to sit down and talk.” The Russian president’s uncompromising remarks – in which he again described Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “illegitimate” – suggested that, despite White House optimism, there is little sign of movement on the core sticking points needed to end the war.
