By [Your Name], August 18, 2025
An influential Ukrainian parliament member has stated that any future peace negotiations with Russia must center on providing robust security guarantees instead of territorial concessions, to underscore a firm national stance during international talks.
As Ukraine prepares to meet with U.S. representatives in Washington, a member of parliament (MP) reiterated what many Ukrainians have long advocated: peace based on sovereignty protection rather than surrender of sovereign land.
This stance aligns closely with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has stressed repeatedly that Ukraine will not cede territory to Russia that does not already belong to it. Additionally, negotiations should start from current front lines instead of forcing concessions through forceful negotiations (according to The Guardian +6 and Financial Times+6 coverage respectively).
Ukrainian officials have insisted that no peace agreement can be achieved without binding security guarantees from both America and Europe, signaling any deal which relies on ceding territory would be unacceptable and risky, ABC News reports.
Internationally, there has been progress toward providing these assurances. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff announced that Russia agreed to allow Ukraine to receive “Article 5-like” security guarantees from its allies modeled on NATO collective defense safeguards but outside its formal framework (PBS, Politico and Sky News all covered the story).
European leaders have united behind Ukraine. At the London Summit in March, a “coalition of the willing” pledged defensive aid and sanctions against Moscow as well as being prepared to send peacekeeping forces should negotiations succeed and uphold Ukraine’s security – something they were very open about doing (Wikipedia).
Such alignments support the MP’s message: tangible, enforceable guarantees are necessary to underpin peace; territorial concessions cannot be legally approved nor will be widely welcomed by Ukrainian society.
Sentiment among Ukrainians remains strong. Polling from recent years demonstrates this by showing a significant majority–often surpassing 80%–strongly opposing any land cessions to Russia even if this means prolonging conflict, according to Council on Foreign Relations, Wikipedia and The Times polls.
Legal and strategic concerns also drive this stance. Analysts note that any territorial loss would erode Ukraine’s defense and industrial base, whereas significant security guarantees and peacekeeping presence would act as essential deterrence against future aggression. understandingwar.org
Beyond battlefield conditions, Ukraine’s constitutional safeguards prevent ceded territory without massive public support, an impossible goal under current conditions.
As Zelenskyy, European heads of state and U.S. officials prepare for high-stakes deliberations this week in Washington, his MP’s clarion call serves to reinforce Kyiv’s priorities: peace that protects rather than peace that sacrifices.
In the coming days, it will become apparent whether international diplomacy can truly stand on the side of security–and whether powerful guarantees can replace coerced gains as the basis for ending this conflict.