Zelenskyy's chief of staff says Ukrainian president will not agree to cede territory to Russia

By Kanyshai Butun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not agree to cede territory to Russia, said Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's Presidential Office.

In an interview with the US-based magazine The Atlantic, released on Thursday, Yermak argued that "not a single sane person" would sign a document to give up territory and that "no one should count on" Kyiv to do so as long as Zelenskyy is president.

"The constitution prohibits this. Nobody can do that unless they want to go against the Ukrainian constitution and the Ukrainian people," he was quoted as saying.

“All we can realistically talk about right now is really to define the line of contact. And that’s what we need to do,” he added.

Yermak's statements came as Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a news conference in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek that the war in Ukraine would end upon the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from territories currently under their control.

"If they don’t leave, we will achieve this by force of arms," he added.

Russia has continued to claim advances in eastern Ukraine in the past months, notably in the Donetsk region, amid the over three-and-a-half-year war, which has recently seen renewed discussions on a proposed US-drafted plan aimed at advancing peace efforts.