Volodymyr Zelensky, in the next phase of talks to end the war in Ukraine, intends to draw a red line at the most contentious issue on the table: the Russian demand for Ukraine’s sovereign territory. As long as he remains the nation’s president, Zelensky will not agree to give up land in exchange for peace, Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Andriy Yermak, told me today in an exclusive interview.
“Not a single sane person today would sign a document to give up territory,” said Yermak, who has served as Zelensky’s chief of staff, lead negotiator, and closest aide throughout the full-scale war with Russia.
“As long as Zelensky is president, no one should count on us giving up territory. He will not sign away territory,” he told me by telephone from Kyiv. “The constitution prohibits this. Nobody can do that unless they want to go against the Ukrainian constitution and the Ukrainian people.”
The 2014 elections were actually pretty close in those areas. A month later the Russians invaded the Donbas though so there wasn’t any chance to be pro-Ukrainian after that. And then there’s the fact that people tend to not like like invading armies. I’m pretty sure anyone still in the area isn’t a fan of the people shelling them every day.
Also, it’s not a wasteland, it’s actually a pretty strategic area.
They were “honest” Russian elections