Kyiv Has ‘No Right’ to Surrender Territory, Zelensky Says

President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted on Monday that Ukraine has “no right” to surrender territory, remarks that could put him at odds with US President Donald Trump and complicate Washington’s push for a quick resolution to the war.

“Under our laws, under international law – and under moral law – we have no right to give anything away,” Zelensky said after meetings with senior European leaders to discuss Trump’s proposal. “That is what we are fighting for.”

The statement follows multiple reports that the United States has been pressing Kyiv to cede territory to Russian President Vladimir Putin amid Kremlin intransigence on the conditions of an original deal slanted heavily in its favor.

“Russia is insisting that we give up territories, but we don’t want to cede anything. We are fighting for that, as you well know,” Zelensky continued, adding: “There are difficult problems concerning the territories and so far there has been no compromise.”

Trump has “his own vision”

Zelensky made the comments while speaking to journalists aboard his flight after consultations with British, French, and German leaders in London.

The Ukrainian president said the draft plan had been revised to remove what he described as “explicitly anti-Ukrainian provisions.” He noted that the original 28-point framework had been trimmed to 20 items.

Ukraine and its European allies are expected to finalize their version of the proposal by Dec. 9 before presenting it to the US, Zelensky said.

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He added that Trump has “his own vision” for ending the conflict, which differs from Ukraine’s perspective as “the ones living in the middle of it.”

Zelensky also stressed that while European security guarantees had been agreed, questions remain about what actions partners would take if Russia were to launch further attacks.

“The key is to know what our partners will be ready to do in the event of new aggression by Russia. At the moment, we have not received any answer to this question,” Zelensky said.

A senior Ukrainian official told the Washington Post that the peace plan “is closer to be doable for Ukraine, but not easy and not finished,” indicating that Kyiv remains willing to negotiate despite unresolved issues.

“A lot of cards in our hands”

Progress, however, seems uncertain given Russia’s inflexible stance. On Thursday, Putin reiterated that Moscow would seize Donbas “by military means” if Ukraine does not relinquish control.

“We will finish [the war] when we achieve the goals set at the beginning of the special military operation [Russia’s euphemism for the full-scale invasion], when we free these territories. That’s all,” the Russian president said.

Zelensky’s comments followed a meeting in London with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at Number 10 Downing Street. European leaders voiced support for US-led diplomatic efforts while reaffirming ongoing assistance to Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the meeting was a chance to add European contributions to the US peace deal, adding that “we have a lot of cards in our hands,” while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that he was “skeptical” of some of the proposals coming from Washington.

Starmer opened the talks with praise for Trump, stating: “You can never get from conflict to peace by an easy, straight route. It’s always a complicated business, but I do think that we’re making progress, and I think what President Trump has been able to achieve in the last few weeks, getting it this far, has been the furthest we’ve got in the four years.”

“Russia would rather have the whole country”

After London, Zelensky traveled to Brussels to meet with NATO and European Commission officials.

Zelensky’s statements on Monday are likely to be met with anger by Trump, who on Sunday criticized the Ukrainian leader publicly in relation to the deal, saying he was “a little disappointed Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal.”

“Russia’s fine with it. You know, Russia would rather have the whole country,” he added.

The US president’s critique followed a sharply worded National Security Strategy document released on Dec. 5, which accused Europe of facing potential “civilizational erasure” over the next 20 years and criticized “unstable minority governments” for having “unrealistic expectations for the war” in Ukraine.

The document argued that ending the war serves US interests, including restoring “strategic stability” with Russia, and questioned whether certain European states would remain militarily and economically reliable allies.

Russia responded to the strategy on Dec. 7, calling it “largely consistent with our vision” and a “positive step,” interpreting the report’s language as supportive of Moscow’s position and critical of European countries for supposedly obstructing peace efforts.