Zelenskyy says territorial concessions remain Ukraine’s ‘biggest challenge’ | Border Disputes News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that protect Ukraine Territorial integrity remains the “biggest challenge” in ongoing negotiations on a US plan to end the war, following talks in Paris with European and US officials.

Zelenskyy, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, said at a joint press conference on Monday that Ukraine’s priorities include security guarantees, sovereignty and preventing concessions that would legitimize Moscow’s occupation of Ukrainian land.

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“Our biggest challenge is the territorial issue,” he said, urging partners to avoid any outcome that “rewards the war.” [Russia] started”.

The comments came as officials from France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom joined the Paris talks and held talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff as part of an intensifying diplomatic effort to end the war, which Russia launched with its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Zelenskyy said the meeting also discussed the content of talks held a day earlier between Ukrainian and American officials in the United States, adding that more meetings were being prepared across Europe.

Macron reiterated that “Ukraine must be the one to determine its own territorial borders,” while indicating further discussions are planned between Washington and European allies on possible security guarantees for Ukraine if a deal to end the war were reached.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also stressed the need for unity between Europe and the US on the road to peace. In a statement, she praised Zelenskyy’s “consistently constructive approach” and said she hoped Russia would “make its own concrete contribution” to future talks.

Territorial issues increase diplomatic tensions

The territorial issue is becoming the most sensitive point in the negotiations as Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, prepare to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

Zelenskyy has said he hopes to speak with Trump after those talks. But Ukrainian officials have already told the US that Kiev will not accept any arrangement that would require it to cede territory.

“We told the American side that it is unacceptable for Russia to continue its occupation of our territory and then demand that we grant it legitimacy,” Zelenskyy’s adviser, Rustem Umerov, told Al Jazeera Arabic. “Giving up our territory means that international law no longer exists and that any party can use force to abolish the sovereignty of another.”

Umerov said security guarantees remain a delicate part of the discussions because “we seek security for both Europe and Ukraine.” He added that negotiations will be “extremely difficult” if Russia actually commits, arguing that Moscow still believes that “continuing the war is less costly than ending it.”

Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra said from Brussels that European Union leaders are insisting that no major concessions be made to Russia, and that “instead of transferring territory, there should be land swaps that only the Ukrainian people can decide.”

It comes after a draft US plan was leaked to the press in mid-November, sparking criticism in Ukraine and among its European allies, who said the document heavily favored Moscow.

The plan proposed limiting Ukrainian army strength to 600,000 men, without any mention of a limit for Russia. It also banned Kiev from ever joining NATO, and included plans for Moscow to hold captured Ukrainian territories.

Russian attacks hit Dnipro

As diplomatic efforts intensify, Ukraine suffered another deadly attack earlier on Monday. Local officials said at least four people were killed in a Russian missile attack on the central city of Dnipro.

Interfax reported that the number of wounded rose to 43, citing Vladyslav Haivanenko, the acting head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration. He said 10 people were in serious condition. The strike damaged an administrative building, several businesses, four educational institutions, several high-rise buildings, two gas stations and more than 50 vehicles.

Dnipro, located about 100 km from the front line and home to almost a million inhabitants before the war, is regularly the target of Russian bombing.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces had “liberated” the Klynove settlement in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, claiming it had advanced deep into Ukrainian positions. However, the Ukrainian military has refuted these claims.

Moscow said Ukraine had lost about 1,415 troops to the front in the past 24 hours. Kiev, meanwhile, reported that it had neutralized 1,060 Russian troops, one tank, six armored vehicles, 14 artillery systems, 239 drones and 71 vehicles in the same period.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify either side’s battlefield claims.