The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has told the BBC that Ukraine may have to give up land as part of a peace deal with Russia, amid growing pressure from President Donald Trump to accept territorial concessions.
“One of the scenarios is… to give up territory. It’s not fair. But for the peace, temporary peace, maybe it can be a solution, temporarily,” he said in response to questions from the BBC.
But the 53-year-old former boxing champion-turned politician stressed that the Ukrainian people would “never accept occupation” by Russia.
He was speaking hours after a Russian missile-and-drone attack on Kyiv killed 12 people and injured more than 80.
It was one of the deadliest Russian assaults on the Ukrainian capital in months.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
Klitschko is now one of the most senior Ukrainian politicians to indicate publicly that his country may have to give up territory, albeit temporarily.
The Kyiv mayor and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are political opponents. The mayor has repeatedly accused the president and his team of trying to undermine his authority.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme from his office in central Kyiv, Klitschko noted that he was “responsible for the capital of Ukraine”, describing it as “the heart” of the war-torn country.
He said Zelensky might be forced to take a “painful solution” to achieve peace.
When asked whether Zelensky has been discussing with him any details of a possible settlement, Klitschko replied bluntly: “No.”
“President Zelensky does [it] himself. It’s not my function,” he added.
