Zelenskyy responds on whether he plans to retake all territories by military means

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again addressed the idea of "peace in exchange for territory."

He made these remarks in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan.

Zelenskyy admitted that, at present, Ukraine cannot retake all of its territories.

"We are rational people, we cannot afford to lose millions of lives. But at the same time, we cannot break the vow we made to those who lost their lives in this war. We cannot violate the Constitution and recognize the occupied territories as Russian. Yes, we know these are temporarily occupied territories," the Head of State said.

According to Zelenskyy, regardless of what Putin or anyone else desires, Ukraine will never legally recognize these territories as Russian.

"This is not a matter of compromise or negotiation. This is something that simply cannot happen. There can be no compromise on a nation's sovereignty," he stressed.

The President expressed regret that the support provided by Ukraine’s partners is insufficient to fully expel Putin’s forces from Ukrainian territory. However, he is confident that Ukraine will eventually reclaim its land.

"This could be a combined solution—both on the battlefield and through diplomacy. But one way or another, we will return, we will reclaim what is ours, because we are right," Zelenskyy stated.

He hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and EU countries will support this effort. Zelenskyy also looks to the backing of the Global South, Arab countries, and China.

The President emphasizes that there can be no legal compromises on Ukraine’s territories.

"If someone asks me what Ukraine is willing to accept - the first thing we want is an end to the active phase of the war. We want peace more than anyone in the world. But Putin is a murderer," he added.

Therefore, Zelenskyy underscored the importance of security guarantees for Ukraine, "so that Putin does not return with war again."

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