LONDON — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday reiterated that Ukraine would not cede land to Russia, a day after President Donald Trump appeared to criticize him amid pressure for Kyiv to accept painful concessions to end the war.
“Are we considering giving up any territory? We have no legal right — under Ukrainian law, under our Constitution, under international law — and honestly, we have no moral right either,” Zelenskyy said, according to audio released by his office.
In rejecting a longstanding Russian demand to end a war that started when President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of its much smaller neighbor, Zelenskyy has cited not only international law, his country’s interests and sovereignty, but also Ukraine’s Constitution.
Zelenskyy’s comments came after Trump said he was “a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal.” It was unclear exactly which version of the peace plan Trump was referencing.
Trump spoke about the Ukrainian peace deal as he and first lady Melania Trump attended the 48th annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington.Allison Robbert / Getty Images
“His people love it. But he hasn’t. Russia is fine with it,” Trump said on the Kennedy Center Honors red carpet in Washington.
Despite Trump’s suggestion that Moscow was “fine” with the most up-to-date version of the deal, the Kremlin has indicated otherwise.
Trump originally approved a 28-point peace plan to end the war that included Ukraine ceding its territory, among other demands seen as favoring Russia.
“You know, Russia … I guess would rather have the whole country when you think of it,” Trump said. “But Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure Zelenskyy is fine with it. His people love it, but he hasn’t read it.”
Zelenskyy also said that negotiations spearheaded by the United States had whittled down the original 28 points to 20, and while he believed in Trump’s commitment to ending the war, he did not trust Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz appear at No. 10 Downing St. on Monday.Adrian Dennis / Pool / AFP via Getty Images
“President Trump definitely wants to end the war — that is a fact,” he said. “But for us, what matters is how and on what terms it will end, so that there is no risk of the war starting again — because we do not trust Russia. That’s all.”
Ukraine aimed to send its “position” on the existing 20 points to the United States on Tuesday evening, Zelenskyy said.
In an earlier interview, Zelenskyy said elements of the U.S. plan required further discussion on a number of “sensitive issues.” There was still no “unified” view on the fate of the Donbas, the industrial eastern region that Putin wants in its entirety, even though it’s still under partial Ukrainian control, he told Bloomberg News.
On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, said that the American side would have to make “radical changes” to the draft on “some issues.”
Russia has not publicly backed off of hard-line demands that would see Kyiv cede much of the one-fifth of the country that Russia currently holds and hobble Ukraine militarily for the foreseeable future. Zelenskyy said Monday that negotiators were still split over the core issues of territorial concessions and security guarantees.
After flying to Moscow with a revised version of the proposal, Trump’s team held talks with Ukrainian officials in Miami, but the push from Washington has so far failed to yield a breakthrough.
Earlier on Monday, Zelenskyy presented a unified image alongside the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom at the British Prime Minister’s Office on Downing Street in London
He was in London to rally support from his European allies, as leaders on the continent scramble for a seat at the negotiating table.