Crimea ‘belongs to Ukraine’ insists Zelenskyy in rebuke to Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that Crimea belongs to Ukraine and that he refuses to give up the region, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, as part of any peace deal.

This week, the Financial Times reported that the United States had proposed recognizing Crimea as officially part of Russia in a draft peace plan—an idea Zelenskyy firmly rejected, instead favoring an unconditional ceasefire.

“Our position is unchanged: only the Ukrainian people have the right to decide which territories are Ukrainian,” he told reporters in Kyiv.

“The constitution of Ukraine says that all the temporarily occupied territories... belong to Ukraine, to the Ukrainian people,” he added.

Yuriy Sak, an adviser at the Ministry of Strategic Industries, told the BBC that Russia is “dragging its feet” and views the peace process as a “spectacle.”

He also noted that Kyiv remains in daily contact with its European allies, who have pledged continued support until a fair and enforceable peace agreement is reached.

(QG - Source: BBC — Picture : © Unsplash)