One of Ukraine’s most prominent politicians, Kyiv mayor and former boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, has conceded that his country may have to give up territory to Russia if it wants to achieve a peace deal — a major departure from the policies of his country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Zelenskyy-led Ukrainian government has repeatedly ruled out relinquishing land to Moscow. That’s left a gulf between its position and that of Russia and the Trump administration, which is brokering the talks and whose envoy, Steve Witkoff, was shown in video released by Russian state media meeting Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“One of the scenarios is to give up territory,” Klitschko told the BBC on Thursday when discussing ceasefire options. “It’s not fair. But for the peace, temporary peace, maybe it can be a solution, temporary.”
President Donald Trump, who has often been accused of being more lenient on Russia than Ukraine, insisted to journalists Thursday that “you don’t know what pressure I’m putting on Russia” — without elaborating. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, meanwhile, said the Kremlin was “ready to reach a deal” but that some details needed to be “fine-tuned.”
It’s those details that have so far been irreconcilable between the parties.
As a president who once promised he could achieve peace in 24 hours, Trump eagerly wants to land a deal, particularly as he marks his first 100 days in office next week.
Russia is hesitant to give up what it sees as its battlefield and diplomatic advantage — including an amenable president in the White House — according to regional analysts. And Ukraine is reluctant to sign an agreement that it believes will bring both painful territorial concessions and vulnerability of future attack by the Kremlin.
Klitschko and Zelenskyy are political opponents who have clashed before. But the Kyiv mayor is now one of the most prominent Ukrainian politicians to suggest that these demands could soften.
Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and his forces currently control around a fifth of its territory including the long-occupied region of Crimea. Zelenskyy reiterated his stance Thursday, saying there was “nothing to talk about” when it came to relinquishing territory on a more permanent basis. “It is our land, the land of the Ukrainian people,” he said.
That stance had already prompted an angry reaction this week from Trump, who on social media Wednesday accused Zelenskyy of making “inflammatory statements” by refusing to cede land for peace.
As well as diplomatically, Ukraine is under pressure on the frontlines and in the skies, where Russia continues its nightly bombardment of civilians.