Ukraine will not yield territory in negotiations and will seek a solution regarding the Donbas that corresponds to Ukrainian interests; this was stated during the Kyiv Security Forum by the Head of the Office of the President, Kyrylo Budanov.
The meeting took place as part of a discussion about possible escalation scenarios and diplomatic approaches; the official’s remarks at the forum are cited by ‘MykVisti’.
The question concerned the Donbas: against the background of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s warning about a possible offensive by the Russian army and potentially stronger pressure from the United States, are there proposals to make concessions regarding the region. In response, the Head of the Office of the President emphasized that sensitive details of any negotiations are not to be announced until they are completed.
“I’ll repeat to you once again. So, all real aspects — not problematic, but sensitive aspects — cannot be disclosed until the moment of completion. Because otherwise what is the point of these negotiations. One could simply exchange views on television, as, by the way, Mr. Lavrov periodically does,” replied Kyrylo Budanov.
Outlining the “red lines,” he emphasized that Ukraine will not recognize imposed decisions and will not discuss exchanging territories, and that regarding the Donbas a path will be found that satisfies the Ukrainian side.
“The red line is simple, I think it’s clear to everyone. First, we recognize nothing. This will not happen, whoever tries whatever. And it will not happen just like that. Don’t even dream. Regarding the Donbas, we will find, I’m sure, a solution that will satisfy, first and foremost, us, because this is our land. And no one here has the right to trade land. That will not happen,” said Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov.
The official separately emphasized that the survival of the state directly depends on the internal unity of society, while external resilience relies on interaction with partners and allies.
“What to do? Again, I won’t tell you anything new. We are in a state where if we are weak, in principle no one will even talk to us. Our strength, internal strength, is our unity. External — yes, it’s work with partners, allies, sympathizers, and so on. But our internal strength is our unity, it is our resilience and ability to fight. If we are divided from the inside, everything else simply has no meaning. One can throw a million tanks, drones, planes at us, but if there is no unity, it simply won’t work. This is the most important thing. And unfortunately, or fortunately, in these times we all must unite, whether we like each other or not, for the sake of achieving the goal. And our goal is the survival of our state and to give it a future. Therefore now we must all unite around the clear vertical of authority headed by the President of Ukraine. And there is no other option. Everything else will simply lead us to catastrophe,” said Kyrylo Budanov.
Earlier we wrote:
- “We won’t leave the Donbas”: Zelensky outlined the red line and readiness for an “all-for-all” exchange
- Donbas — not for trade: Zelensky firmly outlined the red lines
- Everyone has their own demands: Russia — Donbas, the USA — without NATO, the EU — assets, Ukraine — survive
- A Korean scenario for Ukraine? The West pressures, Zelensky resists — what is being prepared for us
- No compromises: Sybiga voiced Ukraine’s key conditions for any negotiations
