On 17 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed sharp critisim of US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff’s claims on ceding Ukrainian territories to Russia, saying that he adopted the Russian side’s strategy during negotiations.
Following his latest meeting with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, Witkoff stated that a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine would concern “five territories” that Ukraine would have to cede in exchange for peace without any security guarantees. Moreover, after that meeting, Russia killed 36 Ukrainian civilians by striking the city of Sumy with two missiles on Palm Sunday.
Zelenskyy warned that the statement made by Witkoff are dangerous and are spreading Russian propaganda narratives.
“I don’t see that he has any mandate to discuss Ukrainian territories, because the territories belong to our people. We have heard all of this before, as Putin’s nonsense. I didn’t think he still had relevant people spreading these narratives in other civilized countries,” the Ukrainian president said.
Zelenskyy noted that today’s meeting between Ukrainian, French, and American delegations in Paris did not include negotiation mandate for territorial discussions as part of efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The April 17 Paris meeting of Ukrainian, US, and European officials signals a clear shift: after the deadly Russian missile strike on Sumy exposed the failure of US-led peace talks and persistent Russian breaches of ceasefire agreements, Washington is now leaning more on Europe to shape the next phase of Ukraine policy. Despite US President Donald Trump’s envoy claiming progress with Moscow, Putin’s ongoing attacks and rejection of a full ceasefire have deepened skepticism about the Trump team’s strategy of direct negotiation with Russia.
Speaking to journalists, Zelenskyy also claimed that Ukraine depends on the US intelligence data as without it Kyiv would not be able to inform its citizens about the launches and threats of Russian ballistic missiles.
“Everyone was truly nervous when there was a risk that intelligence sharing from the American side could be frozen. Because it is the American side that helps us warn our people about ballistic missile threats. I’m speaking frankly,” he said.
He stressed that international partners, in this way, are helping to protect civilians in Ukraine. Intelligence data is a matter of Ukrainian defense because the closer a missile launch is to the frontline, the less time civilians have to react, Zelenskyy explained.
The Ukrainian president added that on 25 March, the Ukrainian delegation had agreed with the US delegation on readiness to pursue an energy truce.
However, Russia has not reduced the number of its attacks. It continues to launch the same number of drones and missiles daily, including ballistic missiles. These aerial weapons are used to strike Ukrainian infrastructure. In particular, if Russia slightly decreases attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, it shifts to striking other civilian infrastructure.
“There have been no fewer attacks on Ukraine this past month. Thus, they might increase strikes on energy infrastructure and slightly reduce strikes on civilian infrastructure. But it’s not because they want to reduce the damage — they just want to strike us,” he said.
Ukraine is continuously monitoring and recording that Russia consistently launches the same number of aerial threats against Ukraine.
“What kind of ceasefire is that? It’s just more lies. If, by changing the targets, the number of killed and wounded increases, then what kind of ceasefire is that? They need a ceasefire in lying,” he stressed.
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