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Ukraine Refuses to Cede Land to Russia 12/09 06:11
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reaffimed his firm refusal to
cede any territory, resisting U.S. pressure for a painful compromise with
Russia as he continued to rally European support for Ukraine.
ROME (AP) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reaffimed his firm
refusal to cede any territory, resisting U.S. pressure for a painful compromise
with Russia as he continued to rally European support for Ukraine.
"Undoubtedly, Russia insists for us to give up territories. We, clearly,
don't want to give up anything. That's what we are fighting for," Zelenskyy
said in a WhatsApp chat late Monday in which he answered reporters' questions.
"Do we consider ceding any territories? According to the law we don't have
such right. According to Ukraine's law, our constitution, international law,
and to be frank, we don't have a moral right either."
The Ukrainian president met early Tuesday with Pope Leo XIV at Castel
Gandolfo, a papal residence outside Rome, and is to have talks with Prime
Minister Giorgia Meloni later. The Vatican said that Leo "reiterated the need
for the continuation of dialogue and expressed his urgent desire that the
current diplomatic initiatives bring about a just and lasting peace."
The Holy See has tried to remain neutral in the war while offering
solidarity and assistance to what it calls the "martyred" people of Ukraine.
Leo has met now three times with Zelenskyy and has spoken by telephone at least
once with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The American pope has called for a
ceasefire and urged Russia in particular to make gestures to promote peace.
On Monday, Zelenskyy held talks in London with British Prime Minister Keir
Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
to strengthen Ukraine's hand amid mounting impatience from U.S. President
Donald Trump.
Facing pressure from Trump
U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators completed three days of talks on Saturday
aimed at trying to narrow differences on the U.S. administration's peace
proposal.
A major sticking point in the plan is the suggestion that Kyiv must cede
control of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine to Russia, which illegally
occupies most but not all of the territory. Ukraine and its European allies
have firmly resisted the idea of handing over land.
In an exchange with reporters on Sunday night, Trump appeared frustrated
with Zelenskyy, claiming the Ukrainian leader "hasn't yet read the proposal."
Trump has had a hot-and-cold relationship with Zelenskyy since winning a
second term, insisting the war was a waste of U.S. taxpayers' money. Trump has
also repeatedly urged the Ukrainians to cede land to Russia to end the nearly
four-year conflict.
Zelenskyy said Monday that Trump "certainly wants to end the war. ...
Surely, he has his own vision. We live here, from within we see details and
nuances, we perceive everything much deeper, because this is our motherland."
He said the current U.S. peace plan differs from earlier versions in that it
now has 20 points, down from 28, after he said some "obvious anti-Ukrainian
points were removed."
Europeans back Ukraine
Starmer, Macron and Merz strongly backed Kyiv, with the U.K. leader saying
Monday that the push for peace was at a "critical stage," and stressed the need
for "a just and lasting ceasefire."
Merz, meanwhile, said he was "skeptical" about some details in documents
released by the U.S. "We have to talk about it. That's why we are here," he
said. "The coming days ... could be a decisive time for all of us."
European leaders are working to ensure that any ceasefire is backed by solid
security guarantees both from Europe and the U.S. to deter Russia from
attacking again. Trump has not given explicit guarantees in public.
Zelenskyy and his European allies have repeatedly accused Putin of
slow-walking the talks to press ahead with the invasion as his forces are
making slow buy steady gains while waves of missiles and drones are pummeling
Ukrainian infrastructure.
Russia and Ukraine exchange aerial strikes
Ukraine's Air Force said Russia fired 110 drones of various types across the
country last night. They said air defenses neutralized 84 drones, 24 more have
struck their targets.
Several regions of Ukraine faced emergency blackouts Tuesday due to Russia's
prior attacks on energy infrastructure, according to Ukraine's national energy
operator, Ukrenergo.
Ukraine, in its turn, continued its drone attacks on Russia.
Russian air defenses destroyed 121 Ukrainian drones overnight above various
Russian regions and occupied Crimea, Russia's Ministry of Defense said Tuesday.
In Chuvashia, a region about 900 kilometers (about 560 miles) northeast of the
border with Ukraine, the attack damaged residential buildings and injured nine
people, local governor Oleg Nikolayev said in an online statement.
Ukraine's Security Service carried out a drone attack on an LPG terminal at
the port of Temryuk in Russia's Krasnodar region on Dec. 5, according to an
official with knowledge of the operation who spoke to The Associated Press.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to comment publicly, said the strike sparked a large fire at the
facility. More than 20 LPG storage tanks were set ablaze and burned for more
than three days, he said. The attack also damaged railway tank cars, an
intermediate refueling tank, and a loading and unloading rack.
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