Zelensky: Russia is demanding through the US that we withdraw from territories it failed to capture

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on 1 November that Russia wants Ukraine to withdraw from territories it has been unable to capture, and that Moscow is conveying this demand to Kyiv through the United States.

Zelensky described Russia's demand as follows: "This is an idea that contradicts common sense and logic."

According to the Ukrainian President, Kyiv supports a ceasefire along the current front line, but will not recognise the territories under Russian control as part of that country.

On the same day, Zelensky also declared that he was ready to meet Vladimir Putin in Türkiye. "If Türkiye can make this happen, we will accept it and will only be glad," Zelensky said, adding that he hoped Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan could help organise a leaders' summit.

At a joint press conference with the Turkish President on 31 October, Zelensky announced that Ukraine was preparing for a trilateral meeting with the United States and Russia in the first half of November. The sides also discussed formats involving Türkiye, Europe and other partners, including the option of holding meetings in Türkiye. Zelensky thanked Erdoğan for supporting "all promising ideas" aimed at peace and security, and the two leaders agreed to work on a grain corridor in the Black Sea.

In March this year, Zelensky also said that Moscow, through American partners, had demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and in September 2022 declared that it had incorporated the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Ukraine does not recognise these steps, and the UN General Assembly has adopted resolutions deeming them illegal.

Russia launched its full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Zelensky also said on 1 November that the Russian army lost 54,400 servicemen in October.