Ukraine will not withdraw troops from part of its own territory and will not give in to Russiaʼs ultimatums.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated this after a conversation with his American counterpart Donald Trump, who spoke with Putin today.
"No one will withdraw our troops from our territories. It is my constitutional duty and that of our military to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine [...] No ultimatums, no one will surrender their lands," he emphasized.
Foreign media reported on Russiaʼs demand to withdraw Ukrainian troops from regions currently partially occupied by Russians in exchange for a ceasefire after a meeting of Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul.
Zelensky also said at the briefing that during their first conversation with Trump, they talked about a ceasefire and the USʼs readiness for sanctions if Russia violates the ceasefire.
He stressed that Ukraine is considering the possibility of a high-level meeting of all teams — America, Ukraine, Russia, EU countries, and Britain. Such a meeting, he said, could take place in Turkey, the Vatican, or Switzerland.
The President also responded to Putinʼs words about his readiness to work on a memorandum with Ukraine, which includes a ceasefire. In his opinion, if the Russian side proposes a memorandum, Ukraine will formulate its vision. At the same time, he emphasized that the Russians want to see in this memorandum not only the issue of a ceasefire, but Zelensky did not disclose details, since he himself does not have information about what will be in the memorandum.
When asked about the "1000 for 1000" exchange, Zelenskyy replied that this format applies to prisoners of war. According to him, prisoner exchanges should concern exclusively military personnel, while civilians and children "should be returned" without any conditions.
"There were signals from our side regarding political prisoners and journalists. I donʼt want to go into details now. Exchanging children for military personnel seems to me to be... Well, to be honest, we donʼt support such an approach. Children should return, right? This is unfair and contrary to the law, even the laws of war," Zelensky said.
- On May 19, Trump spoke with Putin, as well as with Zelensky and a number of European leaders. Putin said after the conversation that he was ready to work on a memorandum with Ukraine that includes a ceasefire. Trump says that Russia and Ukraine “will immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war”.
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