“Ukraine may be required to refrain from attempting to reclaim territories seized by Russia through military means”, – Kurt Volker said

Ukraine may be compelled to abandon attempts to reclaim territories captured by the Russian army through military means.

This was stated by Kurt Volker, former U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine, in an interview with a Ukrainian publication.

According to Volker, the situation with these territories could resemble the case of Crimea: while the international community would not recognize them as Russian, they would effectively remain under Moscow’s control.

“I think you will see non-recognition, meaning no one will recognize the Russian occupation, but we will likely see commitments or an understanding that Ukraine will not reclaim them by military means,” the former special representative clarified.

Volker also emphasized the need to pursue the return of these territories by other means.

“We must achieve this through other means. This implies that Russia will resist, continue its occupation, and as a result, we will face a prolonged dispute over Russia’s occupation of part of Ukraine. We respond by imposing sanctions. And this is terrible for Ukrainian citizens living in the occupied territories,” Volker said.

It is worth noting that the President of Slovakia also believes Ukraine may need to concede some territories to end the war.

Additionally, recent surveys show that a growing number of Ukrainians are expressing willingness to lose territories to achieve peace in Ukraine.