Yermak says as long as Zelensky is president, he won’t agree to cede territory for peace

Head of Ukrainian President’s Office Andriy Yermak told The Atlantic reporter Simon Shuster in an interview that as long as Zelensky is president, he will not agree to cede territory for peace.

“No reasonable person today would sign a document ceding territory. As long as Zelensky is president, no one should expect that we will give up land. He will not sign any document surrendering territory. The Constitution forbids it. No one can do it without contradicting Ukraine’s Constitution and the Ukrainian people,” Yermak said.

He added that Ukraine is willing to discuss only where the line separating territory controlled by the conflicting sides will run. “At this point, we can realistically discuss only the contact line,” Yermak said.

Earlier reports indicated that Ukraine has agreed to much of the U.S.-proposed peace plan. According to Donald Trump, the plan was reduced from the original 28 points to 22. However, issues of territorial control and Ukraine’s NATO membership remain unresolved. Zelensky is expected to address these matters during his meeting with Trump.