President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Saturday decisively rejected a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting that a peace agreement with Russia could involve swapping territories, a move that would effectively cede Ukrainian land to Moscow.
“Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” Zelensky said in a video address from Kyiv, hours after Trump’s remarks.
He emphasized that any decisions excluding Ukraine would undermine peace efforts, calling them “dead decisions” that “will never work.”
This rejection challenges Trump’s foreign policy goal of brokering a peace deal, even if it means Ukraine accepting unfavorable terms.
A recent poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology shows over 75% of Ukrainians oppose ceding controlled territory to Russia, with opposition slightly lower for land already under Russian control.
Support for concessions has risen to 38% since Ukraine’s failed 2023 counteroffensive, up from 10% two years ago, reflecting growing war fatigue.
Trump’s proposal, outlined on Friday, suggested “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” during a planned August 15 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Russia claims four Ukrainian regions — Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson — though it does not fully control them.
Ceding Donbas regions like Luhansk and Donetsk would surrender industrial hubs, potentially enabling Russia to relaunch hostilities.
“Exchanging territories is not peace, it is a breather for the enemy before a new attack,” said Barbarossa, an officer from Ukraine’s 72nd Brigade, in a text message from the eastern front.
Kyiv would also face evacuating about 200,000 civilians from Ukrainian-controlled Donbas areas, with those remaining at risk of Russian abuse.
Zelensky invoked Ukraine’s Constitution, which declares its territory indivisible, stating, “No one will step back from this, nor will anyone be able to.”
Petro O. Poroshenko, Zelensky’s predecessor, echoed this, writing on Facebook, “Ukrainians are a nation that does not trade its own territories.”
Ukraine insists on a ceasefire before discussing terms, while Russia demands talks address “root causes,” including Ukraine’s Western alignment.
With Trump’s Alaska summit approaching, Moscow’s approach appears to hold sway, leaving Kyiv’s negotiating room uncertain.