Russia's demand that Ukraine relinquish sovereignty over the Crimean peninsula and the eastern Donbas region requires a constitutional reform that is almost impossible. This was explained by Ukrainian Justice Minister German Galushchenko on Monday."This is not an issue that can be resolved overnight; it would be a very difficult, enormous process," said Galushchenko."If the proposal is to legally change the borders, with a constitutional reform, it is impossible. I can't imagine anyone voting in favor," said Oleksii Goncharenko, spokesperson for European Solidarity, the main opposition party in Ukraine.

Galushchenko spoke to EL PAÍS during the presentation in kyiv of the Ukrainian government's program, led since last July by the new Prime Minister, Yulia Sviridenko. The Justice Minister, a former Energy Minister, explained that modifying Ukraine's borders requires two parliamentary debates, a favorable vote by a qualified legislative majority (two-thirds of the Chamber), and, finally, a binding ruling from the Constitutional Court.

President Volodymyr Zelensky already warned last week that Russian territorial demands violate the Constitution. The head of state emphasized this after US President Donald Trump warned that Ukraine would have to give up some of the regions it had lost to arms. Trump reacted by attacking his Ukrainian counterpart. “I'm a little concerned about what Zelensky is saying, that he needs constitutional approval,” the US president said on August 11. “I mean, he has approval to go to war and kill everyone, but he must have approval to carry out a territory exchange. Because there will be a territory exchange, for the good of Ukraine.”

In conversation with this newspaper, Goncharenko adds another obstacle caused by Trump himself. The European Solidarity spokesperson does not mention the Republican leader; in fact, he appears conciliatory toward him, but emphasizes that the Constitution cannot be amended while martial law is in effect. And it was Trump who, after last Friday's summit in Alaska with Putin, accepted the Russian condition that peace must be negotiated during the war and not with a prior ceasefire. In other words, martial law will remain in effect during the negotiations, and Ukraine would be unable to accept a hypothetical constitutional reform.

“Crimea is Ukraine, the Constitution says so, and Crimea will be Ukraine, that's the government's position,” Foreign Minister Andrii Sibiga stated during the ministerial meeting. His words were a response to Trump's Sunday message demanding that Zelensky renounce his desire to regain Crimea. “I think Trump is referring to ceding control of Crimea de facto, because if what he's thinking is a de jure cession, that's impossible to get out of the Rada [the Ukrainian parliament],” Goncharenko admitted.

Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev expressed similar opinions when asked about Putin's demand that the Ukrainian army withdraw from the Donbass provinces [Lugansk and Donetsk] and recognize the region as part of the Russian Federation:"No one will give away Donetsk because it belongs to the Ukrainians, it is a temporarily occupied territory."

War economy until 2026

Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko revealed during the presentation that the government's plans were designed with the expectation that the war would continue into 2026. In other words, the government does not consider it likely that peace negotiations will be fruitful this year. The state budget will require more than €38.5 billion in financial aid from the European Union and the United States in 2025 and 2026, Marchenko stated. The United States has not made public any transfer of direct economic assistance to Kyiv during Trump's seven months in the White House.

Trump reiterated last Friday that his administration will stop providing aid to Ukraine"by the billions, like candy, which is what Joe Biden [his predecessor] did." The US president reiterated that the US has given $300 billion in assistance to Ukraine, a figure that kyiv claims is false and is actually closer to half that amount. All of these amounts are contributions agreed upon during the Biden era.

Marchenko and sources from the Ministry of Economy have confirmed to this newspaper that there is no special government action plan that envisages freezing the war front, which is Zelensky's immediate objective, in either 2025 or 2026."It's too early to know what will happen, or what territories we will be able to control," Marchenko says.

Despite this, Sibiga has expressed optimism that the meeting this Monday in Washington between European leaders and Trump, and a potential summit between the US leader, Putin and Zelensky, “will bring peace closer so that it is possible in 2025”: “We are at a decisive moment in the negotiations to see peace in 2025. We are making progress thanks to the efforts of Europe and the US.”

The Ukrainian foreign minister asserted that"Ukraine and its allies speak with one voice, as demonstrated today [Monday] in Washington." Sibiga did not clarify whether the US is also among the "one voice" allies.

Trump also made it clear last week that Ukraine will not join NATO, a demand conveyed to him by Putin. The government has declined to comment on this refusal, but the Speaker of the Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, has stated that his country is ready, both militarily and legislatively, to immediately join the NATO.