ROME, October 28. /TASS/. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto has acknowledged that Ukraine will not be able to regain the territories it lost in 2014 and during Russia’s special military operation.
"Everyone believes that it is impossible to recapture the territories lost in 2014 and after February 2022. Russia will never return them, and Ukraine will not be able to recapture them on its own, even with our (Western - TASS) help," the ANSA news agency quoted him as saying in an interview with Italian reporter Bruno Vespa.
Crosetto also pointed out that Russia will never negotiate the status of these territories, as it is enshrined in the Russian Constitution.
Moscow has repeatedly emphasized that the special military operation in Ukraine will end when all of its goals have been achieved. According to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, these goals can be achieved through the special military operation or relevant negotiations. The objectives of the special operation were listed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. They include demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine, establishing its neutral status, and recognizing the realities on the ground.
The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, became part of Russia following referendums held there from September 23 to 27, 2022. Crimea and Sevastopol rejoined to Russia after a referendum held in March 2014 against the backdrop of a coup d’etat in Ukraine.