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Defiant message from Ukraine’s top negotiator follows Putin’s claim that he would not end war unless Kyiv cedes land to Russia
Arpan Rai,Maira ButtFriday 28 November 2025 03:44 GMTComments
CloseZelensky responds after Putin's warning over Ukraine territory
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Ukraine’s top negotiator has said that Kyiv will never cede territory to Russia as part of a peace deal as long as Volodymyr Zelensky is president.
Speaking to The Atlantic, Andriy Yermak said that “not a single sane person today would sign a document to give up territory” following a week of discussion with US officials over how to end the war.
Yermak has sought to assure Washington that Kyiv is ready for peace and open to negotiation - but made it clear that territory such as the Donbas region is off-limits.
Ukrainian and US delegations are set to meet later this week to discuss security guarantees in a potential peace deal following talks in Geneva, Zelensky said earlier.
His comments come after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine must give up territory for a peace deal to be possible, in a repeat of his maximalist demands for a peace deal.
However, he said that a 28-point plan presented by Donald Trump is a “basis for future agreements” while delivering a speech in Kyrgyzstan on Thursday.
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- Zelensky 'won't give up land to Russia' - Yermak
- Analysis: Ukraine has tried to bounce US into a peace deal - but Putin is still in charge
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Zelensky 'won't give up land to Russia' - Yermak
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will not agree to give up land to Russia, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak told U.S. magazine the Atlantic.
"As long as Zelenskiy is president, no one should count on us giving up territory. He will not sign away territory," Yermak said in the interview published Thursday.
Read moreJames Reynolds27 November 2025 20:56US and Ukraine delegations to meet this week to discuss peace formula, says Zelensky
Members of the Ukrainian and US delegations are to meet this week to work out a formula discussed at talks in Geneva to bring peace and provide security guarantees for Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
"Our team, together with American representatives, will meet at the end of this week to continue to bring closer the points we have as a result of (talks in) Geneva in a form that will lead us on the path to peace and security guarantees," Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
"There will be a meeting of delegations. The Ukrainian delegation will be well prepared and focused on meaningful work,” he said.
(AFP via Getty Images)Arpan Rai28 November 2025 03:44Watch: Zelensky responds after Putin's warning over Ukraine territory
Zelensky responds after Putin's warning over Ukraine territoryArpan Rai28 November 2025 03:28Ahead of peace talks, Putin doubles down on his demands for Ukrainian territory
Russia will lay down its arms only if Ukraine’s troops withdraw from territory illegally claimed and captured by his soldiers, Russian president Vladimir Putin said.
In his remarks to reporters during a trip to Kyrgyzstan, the Russian president accused Ukraine of wanting to fight "to the last Ukrainian" - which he said Russia was "in principle" also ready to do.
Putin claimed that Russia has the initiative on the battlefield and that the war would only end when Ukrainian troops withdraw from the Donbas, which is made up of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
"If they don't withdraw, we'll achieve this by force of arms," he said.
Putin refuses to budge on demand for Ukrainian territory ahead of talks with US
Russian president says peace plan proposed by US could form the ‘basis’ of an agreement to end conflict but will not give up maximalist demands Arpan Rai28 November 2025 03:20Belgium PM says using frozen Russian assets could derail Ukraine peace deal – report
Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever said the European Union's plan to use frozen Russian state assets to fund Ukraine could endanger the chances for a potential peace deal to end the nearly four-year war, the Financial Times has reported.
"Hastily moving forward on the proposed reparations loan scheme would have, as a collateral damage, that we as EU are effectively preventing reaching an eventual peace deal," De Wever said in a letter to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, which was seen by the FT.
EU leaders tried at a summit last month to agree on a plan to use €140bn ($162bn) in frozen Russian sovereign assets in Europe as a loan for Kyiv, but failed to secure the backing of Belgium, where much of the funds are held.
The European Commission, the EU's executive body, hopes to address Belgium's concerns in a draft legal proposal which it will present this week on using the frozen sovereign assets to support Kyiv in 2026 and 2027, EU officials have said.
Arpan Rai28 November 2025 03:01Analysis: Ukraine has tried to bounce US into a peace deal - but Putin is still in charge
Ukraine has tried to bounce US into a peace deal - but Putin is still in charge
The latest round of talks about peace may be drifting Ukraine’s way but Russia is still very active behind the scenes, writes world affairs editor Sam KileyNicole Wootton-Cane28 November 2025 02:00Putin claims Russian army has surrounded Ukraine city dubbed ‘the gateway to Donetsk’
Russian forces have surrounded the embattled Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk and control 70 per cent of it, President Vladimir Putin claimed on Thursday, though Kyiv's top general insisted Ukrainian defenders were pushing back hard amid fierce fighting in the city centre.
Moscow has sought full control of Pokrovsk – known to Russians by its Soviet-era name, Krasnoarmeysk – since mid-2024, as part of its broader objective to seize the entire Donbas industrial region.
You can read more below...
Putin claims Russian army has surrounded Ukraine city dubbed ‘the gateway to Donetsk’
Russian forces have surrounded the embattled Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk and control 70 per cent of it, President Vladimir Putin claimed on Thursday, though Kyiv's top general insisted Ukrainian defenders were pushing back hard amid fierce fighting in the city centre.Nicole Wootton-Cane28 November 2025 01:00Comment: This is what Europe must do to call Putin’s bluff on Ukraine
This is what Europe must do to call Putin’s bluff on Ukraine
Making Ukraine a member of Nato would send the powerful message to Putin that the West, like the Kremlin, can act with confidence on the world stage, writes world affairs editor Sam KileyNicole Wootton-Cane28 November 2025 00:00Watch: Putin Denies Russia Is Planning To Attack Europe
Putin Denies Russia Is Planning To Attack EuropeNicole Wootton-Cane27 November 2025 23:00Peace plan must be 'discussed seriously,' Putin says
US proposals to end the war between Russia and Ukraine offer a starting point for talks, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, as he told Ukrainian forces to pull back or be overrun by Russia's bigger army.
"We need to sit down and discuss this seriously," Mr Putin told reporters at the end of a three-day visit to Kyrgyzstan. "Every word matters."
He described US President Donald Trump's plan as "a set of issues put forward for discussion" rather than a draft agreement.
"If Ukrainian troops withdraw from the territories they occupy, hostilities will cease. If they don't withdraw, we will achieve this by force," the Russian leader said.
(AP)Nicole Wootton-Cane27 November 2025 22:00Newer1 / 4OlderMore about
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