Kyiv considering ceding territory to end war with Russia, Der Spiegel reports

October 13, 2024

By Ukraine

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The Ukrainian government is considering options to end Russia's full-scale war that would involve temporarily suspending its goal of restoring Ukraine's full territorial integrity, the German news outlet Der Spiegel reported on Oct. 13, citing an official close to the Ukrainian government.

Over 20% of Ukraine's territory is currently under Russian occupation. A pillar of President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace formula for Ukraine involves the full liberation of all occupied territories, and Kyiv has repeatedly said it is not willing to make territorial concessions to Moscow.

The government is now holding "serious discussions" about relinquishing its aim of full territorial restoration, an unnamed official told Der Spiegel.

"We believed that victory had to mean the unconditional surrender of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's Russia," the source reportedly said.

This was "a mistaken view of victory," the source claimed, saying an agreement to end the war would be impossible without some concessions.

Factors pushing Kyiv to consider territorial concessions include Russia's grinding advance in eastern Ukraine and the uncertain outcome of the U.S. presidential election, according to the official.

"Whether it's (former U.S. President Donald) Trump or (Vice President Kamala) Harris, the Americans will slowly but surely withdraw," the official told Der Spiegel.

Trump has criticized U.S. aid to Ukraine, calling Zelensky a "salesman" and pledging to get the U.S. "out" of the conflict if re-elected. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Trump ally, recently told the press he has no "appetite for further Ukraine funding."

Harris, by contrast, has taken sharp aim at proposals to end the war that involve Ukraine giving up large portions of its sovereign territory.

"These proposals are the same as those of Putin, and let us be clear, these are not proposals for peace," Harris said on Sept. 26.

"Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable."

Russian troops partially control Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Moscow claims to have annexed the entire territory of those regions despite not controlling two regional capitals — Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russian forces also occupy Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.

Polling from July of this year shows that 55% of Ukrainians oppose territorial concessions to Russia in exchange for peace. The number is lower than that recorded in previous surveys: Polls in February and December 2023 found that 65% and 74%, respectively, opposed such concessions.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Presidential Office, said on Sept. 17 that none of the plans Ukraine is developing to end Russia's war envisages a ceasefire or ceding territory to Moscow, despite some media reports.