Vitali Klitschko at a residential building damaged by a Russian attack in Kiev. (Photo by AP)
Mayor of Kiev Vitaly Klitschko has said his country may have to “give up territory” to Russia as a “painful solution” to securing “temporary” peace and halting the ongoing armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
In an interview on Friday, the boxer-turned-politician admitted that Ukraine should heed the territorial reality on the ground, and that Crimea and four other regions overwhelmingly favor being a part of Russia by voting for it in 2014 and 2022.
“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, temporary,” Klitschko said, though he claimed that “the Ukrainian people would never accept occupation.”
Asked whether he is aligned with the Ukrainian leader’s position on the matter, Vitaly Klitschko said he had not been consulted, adding that “President Zelensky does [it] himself. It’s not my function.”
The former heavyweight boxing champion is a political rival of Volodymyr Zelensky, and the two have been engaged in a long-standing feud after Klitschko warned the Ukrainian leader’s team against undermining local governance and usurping power.
In February, the Kiev mayor hinted at the necessity for Ukraine to prepare for an unfavorable resolution to the conflict. “The so-called compromise could turn out to be very painful for every Ukrainian,” he said at the time.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has reportedly floated a peace proposal that would see Washington recognize Crimea as part of Russia and offer considerable US sanctions relief.
Reports from the US proposal indicate that Russia also wants to receive de facto recognition of its control over much of eastern Ukraine, and a promise that Ukraine would not become a member of NATO.
In return, Russia would freeze the current front lines, with Kiev receiving a “robust security guarantee” from its Western backers.
The Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, said this week that Ukraine “will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea … There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution.”
Donald Trump responded to Zelensky’s remarks on Wednesday, calling them “very harmful to the peace negotiations with Russia.”
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that Moscow and Washington are moving towards a settlement of the Ukraine conflict, noting that “there are still some specific points, elements of this deal which need to be fine-tuned.”
While Trump’s administration continues sending arms to Ukraine, it says it has presented Kiev with what is a final offer to mediate peace with Russia.
As of April 2025, the three-year-old war has resulted in an estimated 1.2 million people reportedly killed or injured.
