Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko suggested Ukraine might need to consider territorial concessions as part of a temporary peace agreement with Russia, the BBC reported on 25 April.

“One of the scenarios is… to give up territory. It’s not fair. But for the peace, temporary peace, maybe it can be a solution, temporary,” Klitschko told the BBC.

The former boxing champion stressed that Ukrainians would “never accept occupation” by Russia, despite suggesting territorial compromises might be necessary.

His comments follow a deadly Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv on 24 April that killed 12 people and injured nearly 90 others. The assault came just a day after the Kremlin repeated its demands for Ukraine to cede occupied territory and for Western military aid to Kyiv to end.

Klitschko’s remarks appear to make him one of the most senior Ukrainian politicians to publicly suggest the country might have to surrender territory, even temporarily.

This position contrasts with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s repeated statements that Ukraine will not recognize occupied territories as Russian.

The Trump administration has reportedly proposed a peace plan that includes US formal recognition of Moscow’s control over Crimea and de facto acceptance of Russian occupation in parts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

When asked if Zelenskyy had discussed details of a possible settlement with him, Klitschko replied directly: “No.”

“President Zelensky does [it] himself. It’s not my function,” he added.

Klitschko, who has a long-standing political rivalry with Zelenskyy, said the Ukrainian president might be forced to take a “painful solution” to achieve peace.

Earlier this week, Trump accused Zelensky of damaging peace negotiations after the Ukrainian leader ruled out recognizing Russian control of Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.

Trump claimed that Crimea “was lost years ago” and was currently “not even a point of discussion.” Zelenskyy responded by pointing to a 2018 “Crimea declaration” by Trump’s then-secretary of state Mike Pompeo, which rejected Russia’s attempted annexation.

Russia currently controls approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory following its full-scale invasion launched in 2022.

Read also:

• FT: Kyiv and other European capitals alarmed by Trump’s offer to recognize Russian annexation of Crimea
• Zelenskyy reminds Trump of 2018 Crimea Declaration that contradicts his recent stance
• Trump pressures Zelenskyy to accept peace deal that recognizes Crimea as Russian