The Telegraph: Ukraine may concede some of the occupied territories to achieve peace.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told European leaders that they should reject any proposals by US President Donald Trump that would transfer additional Ukrainian lands to Russia, but he might consider allowing Moscow to retain some of the territories it has captured. This would effectively mean freezing the front lines in their current positions and transferring control of some parts of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, as well as Crimea, to Russia.

The softening of the negotiating stance occurred on the eve of the planned August 15 meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska. Ukraine insists that any peace agreement must include strong security guarantees, such as weapons supplies and the prospect of joining NATO.

Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukraine’s territory within the internationally recognized 1991 borders. However, the Ukrainian Constitution prohibits ceding territories without a nationwide referendum, which could pose an additional challenge to any potential agreements.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha stated that Ukraine is not considering any territorial concessions to Russia. He compared the current situation to the 1938 Munich Agreement that divided Czechoslovakia: “This is what Putin wants: a continuation of the Yalta world order, which was built on the division of spheres of influence”.