'We will push them out': Zelenskyy rejects territorial concessions to Russia
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (facebook.com/zelenskyy.official)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected the idea of exchanging territory in Donbas for border regions, according to Zelenskyy's comments to journalists.
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When asked whether negotiations included exchanging Russian-unoccupied areas of Donbas for territories captured by Russia in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions, the president stressed that “these lands cannot be compared.”
"First of all, when we talk about border territories — any border territories — they are very difficult for the enemy to hold. The Russians clearly understand they won’t be able to keep them, and the time will come when we will push them out. So this is not a gift," Zelenskyy said.
At the same time, he noted that Donbas remains a key objective for Russia. The president emphasized that Russia’s strategic goals have hardly changed since the start of the war.
"You could say their appetite has decreased slightly, but only for now. Therefore, we are not talking about exchanging small border territories for the large territory of Donbas or the Donetsk region that we currently control," Zelenskyy said.
He added that if the aggressor state chooses to withdraw from negotiations, Ukraine will seek another way to end the war.
What preceded this
Recently, Bloomberg, citing sources close to the Kremlin, reported that Russia is ready to sign a draft peace memorandum if Ukraine agrees to withdraw its troops from the entire territory of the Donetsk region.
At the same time, Russia allegedly expressed readiness to pull its forces out of the Sumy, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, as well as abandon claims to Ukrainian-controlled parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
If agreed, a summit involving the Russian leader and the presidents of Ukraine and the United States would be planned to formalize the deal and begin mutual troop withdrawals.
Peace negotiations
Since the beginning of 2026, Ukraine has held several rounds of negotiations with Russia. The main unresolved issue remains control over the unoccupied territories of Donbas.
Russia insists on the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces, Ukraine proposes freezing positions along the current front line, and the United States advocates creating a free economic zone in those territories.
According to Bloomberg, citing informed sources, the next round of talks is expected to take place on March 4–5 and could be decisive.
