Zelensky: Ukraine's territorial integrity must be decided by its people, not individuals or presidents
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated that any discussion regarding Ukraine’s territorial integrity is a decision for the people of Ukraine, not a single person or president. Speaking to Le Monde, Zelensky emphasized, “You must understand that any issue concerning Ukraine’s territorial integrity can't be resolved by a single president, a single person, or even all the presidents globally without the participation of the Ukrainian people.”
He further explained that Ukrainian authorities “officially do not have the right to give away their territories,” stressing that "This must be something the Ukrainian people want." According to Zelensky, such a move would be perceived by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a victory, rendering it "a very, very, very complex issue."
In his interview with Le Monde, Zelensky also said that he wants to see Russia at the negotiation table. “Like most countries, I believe Russian representatives should be present at the second peace summit in November, or else we will achieve no sustainable results. They must not prevent us from developing a joint plan,” Le Monde quoted the Ukrainian president as saying.
According to the German news agency dpa, Article 73 of the Ukrainian Constitution allows for territorial changes only through a national referendum. Article 133 lists all territories, including Crimea, annexed by Russia, and the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia regions. Additionally, any constitutional amendments would require a two-thirds majority vote in the Ukrainian parliament.
Zelensky continues to seek authorization from Western partners to attack military targets deep within Russian territory using American and European missiles. “Unfortunately, our partners are still afraid of this,” he noted again. He also called on China to exert targeted pressure on Moscow: “I wish China rendered such pressure on Russia to end this war, just as the U.S. and the European Union do.”
Meanwhile, as per a Bloomberg report, the first batch of American F-16 fighter jets has arrived in Ukraine as of July 31. Sources indicated that only a few planes were included in this delivery. The training of Ukrainian pilots to operate F-16s has been ongoing for several months, but it remains unclear whether they can immediately deploy these aircraft in combat.
The percentage of Ukrainians willing to concede territory to halt military actions has tripled over the past year, according to a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) published on July 23.
Sociologists noted that from May 2022 to May 2023, the situation was relatively stable, with 8-10 percent of respondents ready for territorial concessions to Russia while a vast majority, 82-87 percent, consistently opposed any concessions.
However, between May and October 2023, coinciding with an unsuccessful counteroffensive by Ukraine, public sentiment began to shift. “By the end of 2023, the willingness for concessions grew to 19 percent, reaching 26 percent by February 2024, and 32 percent by May 2024,” the publication stated.
Simultaneously, the proportion of those opposed to territorial concessions in exchange for peace decreased from 84 percent to 55 percent over the year. This trend is evident across most regions but is particularly pronounced in southern Ukraine.