The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, siad that Ukraine may have to give up land as part of a peace deal with Russia, amid a growing pressure from President Donald Trump to accept territorial concessions.
“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,” he said in response to questions from the BBC.
53-year-old former boxing champion-turned politician stressed that the Ukrainian people would “never accept occupation” by Russia.
He was speaking hours after a Russian missile-and-drone attack on Kyiv killed 12 people and injured more than 80.
Klitschko noted that he was “responsible for the capital of Ukraine”, describing it as “the heart” of the war-torn country.
He said Zelensky might be forced to take a “painful solution” to achieve peace.
When asked whether Zelensky has been discussing with him any details of a possible settlement, Klitschko replied bluntly: “No.”
“President Zelensky does [it] himself. It’s not my function,” he added.
Referring to a very public bust-up between Zelensky and Trump at the White House in February, the mayor suggested that key issues between top politicians would be better discussed “without video cameras”.
