Ukraine May Have To Cede Land ‘Temporarily’ For Peace —Kyiv mayor

Ukraine may have to cede territory in order to secure “temporary” peace with Russia, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko told the BBC in an interview published Friday.

“One of the scenarios is… to give up territory. It’s not fair. But for the peace, temporary peace, maybe it can be a solution, temporary,” the former boxing champion said.

His comments came after a Russian missile-and-drone attack on his city killed at least 12 people and injured more than 80.

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Klitschko told the BBC that he was “responsible for the capital of Ukraine” and that President Volodymyr Zelensky may have to accept a “painful solution” to achieve peace.

However, the Ukrainian people would “never accept occupation” by Russia, he added.

US President Donald Trump is putting pressure on Ukraine and Russia to agree a deal, and it is reported that territorial concessions, including the United States recognising Russian control of Crimea — illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014 — are part of his proposals.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and currently controls around 20 percent of Ukrainian territory.

Earlier this week, Trump accused Zelensky of being “harder” to negotiate with, after the Ukrainian leader again ruled out recognising Russian control of Crimea, a southern Ukrainian peninsula illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Zelensky “can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump said Crimea “was lost years ago” and was currently “not even a point of discussion”.

AFP