Zelensky proposes swap of seized territory with Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is proposing an exchange of seized territory with Russia as part of any potential negotiations to end the war.
Ukraine holds control of a small pocket of Russian territory, parts of Kursk Oblast, captured during a surprise incursion in August.
Zelensky, in an interview with The Guardian, said he planned to offer Russia control of Kursk in exchange for Ukrainian territory under Russian occupation.
“We will swap one territory for another,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky did not say which territory Kyiv would request be returned to Ukraine in an exchange for Kursk, nor did he address negotiations over the status of other land occupied by Russia.
“I don’t know, we will see. But all our territories are important, there is no priority,” he said.
Zelensky’s remarks come as President Trump is laying the groundwork for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to halt the nearly three-year war, since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
Russia had also invaded Ukraine in 2014, capturing and annexing the Crimean Peninsula and pockets of territory in Ukraine’s east.
Moscow controls about 20 percent of Ukrainian territory in the east of the country and the Crimean Peninsula.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands for ending the war against Ukraine include Kyiv recognizing Russian control over four territories of Ukraine, including areas Russian forces do not occupy, and for Kyiv to give up its aspirations to join NATO.
Trump had said during the campaign he would end the war in 24 hours but extended that timeline to about 100 days since entering office.
He told the New York Post he has spoken with Putin by phone, but he would not say how many times.
Top Trump administration officials are headed to Europe this week to huddle with allies and Ukrainian officials over U.S. plans to bring Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table.
This includes Vice President Vance, who is expected to meet Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference taking place from Friday to Sunday.
Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also travel to Munich. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is in Europe touring U.S. military installations.
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