Ukraine Will Not Consider Peace Proposals That Compromise Its Territorial Integrity, Says Ukrainian FM

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha reaffirmed that Ukraine will not accept any peace proposals that compromise its sovereignty or territorial integrity.

Speaking at a hearing of the US Congressional Helsinki Commission on November 20, which marked 1,000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Sybiha rejected the idea of a “land for peace” deal.

“Rewarding Russia with territorial gains will not restore peace,” he stated. “Instead, it will provoke further aggression. This is appeasement, not peace. Appeasement has never worked in the past, and it will not work now.”

Sybiha’s remarks follow recent statements by President-elect Donald Trump, whose spokesperson claimed that Trump would “negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine” after his election victory on November 6. Trump has frequently asserted that he could end the war in a single day.

However, Sybiha emphasized that Ukraine’s stance remains the same: “Ukraine will not agree to any negotiations that involve compromises on its territory.” Such compromises, he argued, would leave millions of Ukrainians under Russian control, exposing them to “genocide, torture, and oppression.”

In an interview with Fox News on November 20, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy echoed this position. He reiterated that Ukraine cannot recognize the legality of Russian occupation in any part of its territory and emphasized the country’s commitment to restoring its borders through diplomacy.

Addressing the issue of Crimea, Zelenskyy acknowledged the current limitations of Ukraine’s military efforts. “We cannot spend dozens of thousands of our people so that they perish for the sake of Crimea coming back,” he stated. “We understand that Crimea can be brought back diplomatically. At this moment, we do not have enough strength to reach the 1991 borders with weapons in hand.”