Russia says annexed Ukrainian territory is ‘non-negotiable’

A vehicle carrying the Russian delegation arrives at the residence of the U.S. Consul General in Istanbul, Turkiye, on February 27, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The Kremlin on Thursday (February 27, 2025) ruled out any negotiation over the status of five Ukrainian regions it claims to have annexed despite not fully controlling four of them.

“The territories which have become subjects of the Russian Federation, which are inscribed in our country’s constitution, are an inseparable part of our country,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“This is undeniable and non-negotiable,” he said in a phone briefing attended by AFP.

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Russia in 2014 annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula following a brief military operation and a referendum that was criticised as illegitimate by Kyiv and Western powers.

After launching its full-scale offensive, Russia in September 2022 declared the annexation of four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

Russian forces control most of the Donetsk and Lugansk region but only parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Moscow also occupies part of the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine.

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Ukraine has seized hundreds of square kilometres of Russia’s Kursk region and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has raised the possibility of an “exchange” of territory with Moscow — a notion ruled out by Russia.

Russian forces have been pushing further into eastern Ukraine in recent months and have seized back territory in the Kursk region.

The Russian Defence Ministry on Friday (February 21, 2025) said it had re-captured the village of Nikolsky near the Ukrainian-held town of Sudzha.

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‘Dialogue with U.S. should move forward but nobody expects quick solutions’: Kremlin

The Kremlin also said on Thursday (February 27, 2025) that it believed dialogue with the United States should move forward as long as there is political will on both sides and a readiness to listen to each other but said nobody expected quick and easy solutions.

The Kremlin made its comments as Russian and U.S. diplomats met in Istanbul for talks aimed at resolving long-running disputes over their respective diplomatic missions in what is a first test of their ability to reset wider relations and work towards ending the conflict in Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday (February 26, 2025), Mr. Trump said Russia would have to make territorial “concessions” in future negotiations with Ukraine, but that Kyiv “can forget” about joining the NATO alliance.

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“We’re going to do the best we can to make the best deal we can for both sides,” Mr. Trump said. “But for Ukraine, we’re going to try very hard to make a good deal so that they can get as much (territory) back as possible.”

Moscow says four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Luhansk — are now part of Russia even though it does not control any of them fully. Kyiv and many Western countries reject Russia’s claims as illegal.

Asked about Mr. Trump’s comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday (February 27, 2025): “What we are seeing is that President Trump himself speaks and is ready to listen to others.

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“No one expects solutions to come easily and quickly. The problem at hand is too complex and neglected. But with the two countries’ political will, with a willingness to hear and listen to each other, I think we will be able to get through this working process,” Mr. Peskov told reporters.

He said one topic of possible Russia-U.S. cooperation would be joint development of natural resources in the Arctic, but said there were no substantive talks on that yet.