MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. Ukraine has no plans to withdraw troops from Donbass or legally recognize any loss of territory, Vladimir Zelensky said at a meeting with journalists, the RBC Ukraine media outlet reported.
"If we talk about a withdrawal from the east [of the country], we can’t do that," he said in response to a question about the possibility of a troop pullout from Donbass. "It’s not just a question of the constitution – it’s also about our country’s survival, the strongest defenses and the distances to our industrial centers," Zelensky added.
He made it clear that he did not see the Russia-controlled parts of the Sumy and Nikolayev regions as subjects for exchange, as those areas were too small. Zelensky also noted that it would only be possible to talk about Ukraine’s willingness to carry out any exchanges after those demands were specified. "Still, Ukraine definitely won’t legally recognize the occupation of its territories," he added.
US President Donald Trump earlier expressed frustration with Zelensky’s statements about territorial issues and stressed that there would be "some land swapping." Ukraine’s Strana news outlet, in turn, reported that Zelensky’s attempt to cite the constitution to justify his refusal to withdraw troops from Donbass was baseless, because such a move only required an order from the army command.