Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky floated the prospect of putting the issue of territorial control in the country’s east to a referendum as Kyiv comes under mounting pressure to agree to terms of an emerging peace plan to end Russia’s war.
Moscow has insisted that Ukraine withdraw its forces from the eastern Donbas, which includes areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that the Russian military has failed to capture in its nearly four-year invasion.
Zelensky has engaged in talks over the latest peace proposal from US President Donald Trump’s administration, but has maintained his position that Ukraine will not consider surrendering territory to the Kremlin.
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“The Russians want the whole of Donbas – we don’t accept that,” Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on Thursday.
“I believe that the Ukrainian people will answer this question. Whether in the form of elections or a referendum, the Ukrainian people must have a say.”
Ukrainian territory is at the centre of running discussions between Washington, Kyiv and Moscow as negotiators inch towards a potential agreement to end the war.
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