The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said Ukraine may have to give up land to secure a peace deal with Russia as President Trump continues pushing both nations to end the deadly conflict that has raged for more than three years.
Mr. Klitschko said it may be necessary to accept some territorial concessions to the Kremlin, at least in the short term. The statement from the 53-year-old former boxing champion turned mayor is a major break with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s rejection of any plan to cede Ukrainian territory.
“One of the scenarios is … to give up territory. It’s not fair, but for the peace, temporary peace maybe, it can be a solution — temporary,” Mr. Klitschko told the BBC on Thursday.
He is one of the highest-ranking Ukrainian politicians to publicly broach the idea that the government may have to give up territory, at least temporarily. Mr. Klitschko’s comment came hours after a Russian drone and missile strike on Kyiv killed at least 12 people and injured dozens more. It was the deadliest attack on Ukraine’s capital in more than a year.
Mr. Trump accused Ukraine’s president of harming a possible peace deal with Russia after Mr. Zelenskyy rejected any notion to recognize Russian control of the Crimea, which was invaded and annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Mr. Klitschko, who told the BBC that he wasn’t saying anything new, said other international figures have discussed territorial concessions as part of a peace deal.
“We understand that the scenario involving territorial concessions contradicts our national interests, and we must fight against its implementation until the very end,” he said. “This will require extraordinary efforts both from us and European partners.”
