Ukraine won't recognize occupied territories as Russian — Zelenskyy on Trump’s Crimea comments

Interfax-Ukraine reported the information.

When asked by a journalist about Trump's remarks that Crimea should remain Russian, Zelenskyy reaffirmed Kyiv’s unwavering stance on the issue.

“Only the Ukrainian people have the right to decide which territories are Ukrainian. The Constitution of Ukraine states that all temporarily occupied territories are temporarily occupied, and they all belong to Ukraine, to the Ukrainian people. Ukraine will not legally recognize any temporarily occupied territories,” the president said.

He emphasized that this position is both fair and legal from the perspective of international law.

“In this regard, even those countries that are constantly balancing between us and Russia — they all recognize Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, including the Crimean peninsula,” Zelenskyy added.

• On April 22, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine will not legally recognize Crimea's occupation, commenting on media reports suggesting the U.S. might propose recognizing Crimea as Russian on April 23 in London.
• On April 24, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the situation for Ukraine is dire. According to him, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statement that Kyiv does not recognize the occupation of Crimea is harmful to negotiations with Russia.
• The Financial Times reported that the Trump administration had offered Kyiv a plan to end the war, which included Ukraine's refusal to join NATO and recognizing Crimea as part of Russia. These proposals were supposedly sharply criticized by the European Union.
• Later, Trump reiterated that the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory of Crimea would remain Russian.