Ukraine Rules Out Any Potential Ceasefire That Demands Ceding Land to Russia

Polish President Andrzej Duda (here embracing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy) supported Ukraine's stance on ceasefire as he addressed Ukraine's Parliament.

(Photo: Twitter/@AVindman)

Ukraine said on Sunday, 22 May, that it will not sign any ceasefire deal that would require it to give up land to Russia.

"The war must end with the complete restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty," tweeted Ukraine's presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak.

Similarly, Ukraine's lead negotiator in the peace talks, Mykhailo Podolyak, asserted on Saturday, "any concession to Russia is not a path to peace, but a war postponed for several years. Ukraine trades neither its sovereignty nor territories and Ukrainians living on them."

"The (Russian) forces must leave the country and after that the resumption of the peace process will be possible," he said in an interview with Reuters.

Calls for a ceasefire were made by US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, and the Italian prime minister, Mario Draghi.

Even Polish president Andrzej Duda supported Ukraine's stance on the ceasefire, saying, "worrying voices have appeared, saying that Ukraine should give in to Putin’s demands," and "only Ukraine has the right to decide about its future."

Russian troops continued over the weekend their bombardment of the Donbas region in the east. In the north, shelling and missile strikes continued in Kharkiv. The worst-affected city continues to be Mariupol.

"There is no work, no food, no water," said Angela Kopytsa as she spoke to AFP reporters on a Russian-organised tour of the port-city, as reported by The Guardian.

(With inputs from Reuters and The Guardian)