Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not agree to cede territory to Russia, said Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's Presidential Office.

According to Anadolu Agency, in an interview with the US-based magazine The Atlantic, Yermak argued that "not a single sane person" would sign a document to give up territory and that "no one should count on" Kyiv to do so as long as Zelenskyy is president. He emphasized that the Ukrainian constitution prohibits ceding territory and that any attempt to do so would be against both the constitution and the will of the Ukrainian people.

Yermak stated that the focus should be on defining the line of contact, indicating that this is what needs to be addressed in the ongoing conflict. His remarks came as Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted at a news conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, that the war in Ukraine would conclude with the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from currently contested territories. Putin warned that if Ukrainian forces do not withdraw, Russia would achieve its goals through military means.

The conflict has seen Russia claiming advances in eastern Ukraine, particularly in the Donetsk region. This situation has unfolded over more than three and a half years of war and has recently been under renewed discussions, including a proposed US-drafted peace plan aimed at resolving the conflict.