Russia Won’t Trade Territories: Kremlin
The Russian government has said it won’t trade any territory in potential peace talks with Ukraine. This was stated by Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine had suggested that his country might give up control of some land in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. In return, Ukraine would get back land currently controlled by Russia. However, Peskov said this idea is impossible and will never be discussed.
Ukraine has been trying to retake land from Russia for months. They launched an operation in August 2024 to take control of the Kursk Oblast region. Recently, Ukrainian forces made a small gain, taking over 1.5 miles of Russian territory.
Zelensky had said that Ukraine might trade some land if US President Donald Trump is able to negotiate with Russia. However, he didn’t specify which areas would be traded.
Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukraine’s land. They have been trying to annex four Ukrainian regions – Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia – since September 2022. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has said that Ukraine must leave these regions for peace talks to happen.
The idea of ending the war between Russia and Ukraine is gaining momentum now that Trump is in office. He has set a goal to resolve the conflict within 100 days. A special envoy from his team will visit Ukraine soon to discuss this further. The Kremlin has already said it’s ready to hold talks with Trump about the war.
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