Ukraine’s transfer of parts of its territory to end the war with Russia has been on the table for the past year. However, this option is resurfacing, since a member of the administration close to the Ukrainian government maintains that the Kyiv government considers options to end war on a large scale with Russia.
These options would involve temporarily suspend its objective of restoring territorial integrity total of Ukraine. In other words, Ukraine would be ready to cede territory to Russia in exchange for peace. This is what the German newspaper says The Spiegel.
Currently, more than 20% of Ukrainian territory is occupied by the Russian army. One of the pillars of the president’s peace formula Volodymyr Zelensky for Ukraine, it is the total liberation of all occupied territories, and Kyiv has repeatedly stated that it is not willing make territorial concessions to Moscow.
According to a German source The Spiegelthe Ukrainian government now maintains “serious discussions” on the possibility of renounce its objective of complete territorial reconquest.
“We thought victory should mean “unconditional surrender of Putin’s Russia”the source said. It was “a erroneous view of victory” the source said, adding that an agreement to end the war would be impossible without some concessions.
What would push Ukraine to cede territory to Russia?
Factors pushing Kyiv to consider territorial concessions include Russia’s gradual advance into eastern Ukraine and the uncertain outcome of the US presidential election, according to the official, reports The Kyiv Independent.
“Whether it is former US President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris, Americans will step down slowly but surely,” the source said. The Spiegel.
Trump has criticized U.S. aid to Ukraine, calling Zelensky a “betrayal” and promising to pull the United States out of the conflict if he is re-elected. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Michael Johnsona Trump ally, recently told reporters he had “no appetite for more funding for Ukraine.”
Harris, on the other hand, has sharply criticized proposals to end the war, which involve Ukraine ceding large parts of its sovereign territory.
“These proposals are the same as Putin’s, and let’s be clear: These are not peace proposals,” Harris said on September 26. “Rather, these are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable.”
Russian troops partially control the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Moscow claims to have annexed all the territory of these regions although it does not control two regional capitals: Kherson and Zaporozhye. Russian forces also occupied Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula.
Zelensky reiterated that territorial concessions aimed at ending the war started by Vladimir Putin would require the support of a referendum in Ukraine. The Ukrainian president, however, declared to several French media that such a measure “This is not the best option.” because we are dealing with Putin and it will be a victory for him if he is part of our territory.
“Ukraine will never abandon its territories because it would constitute an attack on the Constitution,” he said, adding that such a measure “is a very, very difficult issue,” he insisted in August this year.
According to a poll conducted in July this year, 55% of Ukrainians oppose territorial concessions to Russia in exchange for peace. This figure is lower than that recorded in previous surveys: in February and December 2023, 65% and 74% respectively opposed such concessions.
