In a morning video address, President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the announcement of the Trump-Putin meeting and Trump's idea that Ukraine should hand over the territories it already controls to Russia in the interests of peace.

"The answer to the Ukrainian territorial question is already contained in the Constitution of Ukraine. No one will and no one will be able to deviate from this," he said, referring to the fact that the Ukrainian Constitution does not allow for the renunciation of territories.

“Of course, we will not reward Russia for what it has done... Ukrainians will not hand over their lands to the occupiers”

– Zelensky said in a video posted on his Telegram channel.

After Wednesday's Putin-Witkoff meeting, Trump announced that he would meet with the Russian president in Alaska next Friday and outlined the territorial aspects of his peace plan. According to the US president, Ukraine would also have to cede territory in order to end the war and talked about land swaps. According to press reports, under the plan, Ukraine would have to give up the entire Donbas - that is, it would have to withdraw without a fight from territories that Russia has not been able to occupy since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

Although Zelensky is trying to appear as a constructive statesman who is seeking a ceasefire agreement, this would essentially mean that a decision would be made about its territory without Ukraine's involvement, which would be an ultimatum to him. His recent statement is the first in which he indicates that giving up the territories is a red line for him, which he rejects.

“Ukraine is ready for real decisions that can bring peace. Every decision against us, every decision without Ukraine is also a decision against peace. They will not bring anything. These are dead decisions, they will never work. And we all need a real, living peace that people will respect. We are ready, together with President Trump, together with all our partners, to work for a real and, most importantly, lasting peace - a peace that will not collapse because of Moscow’s desires”

– said the Ukrainian president, indicating that Ukraine will not make territorial concessions during negotiations on a peace agreement.