Ukraine will not trade territories — Zelenskyy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated this at a meeting with journalists on August 20.

According to him, before talking about what Ukraine is ready for, we need to find out what Moscow is ready for.

For example, regarding the Donetsk region, at a meeting with American leader Donald Trump, he explained that as of February 2022, Russia had captured not 69%, but about a third.

Now they hold about 67-69% in total. That is, for almost 4 years of full-scale war, they occupied a third of the Donetsk region. And that's why I explained that the stories that they will occupy our Donbas by the end of the year are all talk. That is, they need another 4 years to occupy our Donbas.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

President of Ukraine

He also gave the example of his family. His grandfather fought against the German Nazis for Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Mariupol. And there are a lot of such families, so this is a very painful moment in the history of Ukraine and the lives of Ukrainians.

Everything is not as simple as it might seem to some.

As for the Sumy region, Zelenskyy is sure: the Russians will not get it.

And, frankly, they won't be able to hold onto the areas in the border region where they are now. In today's realities, it's a matter of time — a few months — and they won't be in Sumy Oblast.

He also believes that in the future the Russians will not receive the Kharkiv region.

Zelenskyy once again emphasized that Ukraine does not legally recognize the occupation of any temporarily occupied territories.