Ukraine’s parliament refused to give up territory to end the conflict with Russia

Ukraine wants to end the conflict with Russia but does not intend to give up territory, arguing that territorial concessions would not actually stop the fighting.

This was stated by Roman Kostenko, Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, speaking on Radio NV.

“We are holding talks in order to show that we are ready [to end the conflict]. And does our government want the war to end? I am sure it does, just as many Ukrainians do, and I want it to end too—but not by surrendering territories to the Russian Federation,” Kostenko said.

He claimed that even if Ukraine were to relinquish territory, the conflict would not end, because Kyiv “objectively sees” Moscow’s intentions. The MP also spoke of the need to “destroy the army” and “inflict maximum damage” on Russia.

Kostenko urged Ukrainians to think about whether they would be ready to give up their own city or town so that neighboring communities could “live well,” insisting that in this matter “there are no things that would be acceptable.”

The day before, Kostenko had said that peace negotiations are currently disadvantageous for Ukraine. According to Ukraine’s Strana outlet, he argued that to improve Ukraine’s negotiating position it would be necessary to “stop them on the battlefield,” “bring their losses to 50,000 a month,” and “shoot down 80–90% of drones.”