President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that Ukraine cannot simply abandon its territories as part of any peace agreement with Russia, stressing that such a move would violate Ukrainian law and, more importantly, ignore the human reality on the ground. Speaking in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier broadcast on December 29, Zelensky underlined that the issue is not abstract or purely legal, but deeply tied to people’s lives.

“We can’t just withdraw, it’s out of our law. We can’t just withdraw from our territories. It’s not only the law. People live there, 300,000 people… We can’t lose those people,” Zelensky said, adding that Ukrainian troops are also present in these areas and have paid a heavy price defending them.

His comments came a day after a face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Zelensky described the talks as constructive and said the atmosphere was noticeably more positive than during some of their previous encounters. “I’m thankful to President Trump, really, it was a very productive meeting and in Mar-a-Lago maybe another mood here,” he said.

Zelensky confirmed that a revised 20-point peace framework aimed at ending Russia’s full-scale invasion is close to completion. According to him, around 90 percent of the document has already been agreed, with only two points still unresolved. The core disagreement, he said, concerns territories. “When I said 90 percent, it’s true. I think we have a problem with one question. It’s about territories. We have different views with Russians. This is important, not with Americans, with Russians,” he noted, calling it the most difficult issue in the talks.

He added that Washington understands the positions of both Kyiv and Moscow and is attempting to help bridge the gap. Over the past month, Zelensky said, Ukraine has taken tangible steps to demonstrate its willingness to pursue peace. He also raised the idea of a referendum on a future peace deal but made clear that such a vote could not be used to legitimize withdrawing from Ukrainian territory under the current circumstances. “The worst way is to go out from Donbas. It will be a big risk for Ukraine, not acceptable by Ukrainians, by me personally, and the referendum will not be positive,” he said.

Zelensky pointed to the human cost of the war to underline why territorial concessions are unacceptable. He referred to around 100,000 wounded Ukrainian soldiers and dozens killed in contested areas, adding, “And also our army is there.” Figures cited by Zelensky regarding casualties and population cannot be independently verified.

As a possible compromise, Zelensky said Ukraine has proposed the creation of a demilitarized free economic zone, under which both sides would take reciprocal steps and pull their forces back several kilometers. He contrasted Russia’s recent territorial advances, estimated at roughly 3,000 square kilometers per year, with what he described as a devastating price in manpower, claiming around 400,000 Russian casualties over the past year and approximately 31,000 killed each month.