Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has strongly ruled out any voluntary withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from territories still under Kyiv's control in the Donbass region, dismissing proposals for a land swap with Russia.

Zelensky emphasized that ceding land in Donbass would simply enable Russia to launch renewed aggression in a few years and push further into Ukraine. He highlighted that these territories are "illegally occupied" and such territorial issues cannot be separated from security guarantees.

Zelensky warned against gifting Russia around 9,000 square kilometres, which is about 30% of the Donetsk region, calling it a springboard for new Russian aggression.

These remarks come amid repeated suggestions from former U.S. President Donald Trump that a potential peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv could involve land swaps and territorial concessions on both sides. Trump has indicated that efforts would be made to regain some prime territory currently occupied by Russia in Ukraine.

The Donbass region consists of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), which, along with the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, were annexed by Russia after referendums in 2022. Russia has full control over the LPR and partial control over the other territories. Meanwhile, Kyiv continues to claim all these areas as well as Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

Zelensky's clear stance of rejecting any territorial concessions contrasts with Moscow's insistence that any peace agreement must involve Ukrainian withdrawal from these newly incorporated regions.

This conflict over territorial control has remained a significant point of deadlock in the ongoing war and peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

Zelensky's position firmly rejects land swaps involving Donbass as part of any peace deal, asserting that yielding such territory would only serve as a pretext for future Russian invasions and undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and security.

Based On ANI Report