Ukraine can’t afford to lose tens of thousands of lives to reclaim Crimea, says Zelensky

Ukraine can’t afford to lose tens of thousands of lives to reclaim Crimea, but the peninsula could be returned through diplomacy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Fox News published on Wednesday.

When asked whether some occupied territories might remain under Russian control as part of a ceasefire or peace agreement, Zelensky asserted that Kyiv “cannot legally acknowledge any occupied territory of Ukraine as Russian,” including areas “occupied by Putin before the full-scale invasion, since 2014.” However, he acknowledged that Ukraine currently lacks the military strength to force Putin’s forces back to the 1991 borders.

Pressed on whether Ukraine might consider relinquishing Crimea, Zelensky reiterated his position: “We understand that Crimea can be brought back diplomatically.”