Zelensky's bold land swap proposal rejected by Russia
Russia will never discuss the exchange of its territories, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned he would propose to Russia the exchange of part of the Kursk region for territories currently occupied by Moscow.
On Tuesday, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, officially confirmed for the first time that he will offer Russia the exchange of part of the Kursk region for Ukrainian territory.
"We will swap one territory for another," he stated, but added that he does not know which part of the territories occupied by Russia Ukraine will ask for in return.
"Ukrainian formations will be expelled from this territory. They will be destroyed, [they] will be driven away," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday. "Russia has never discussed and will not discuss the topic of exchanging its territory," he added.
Putin stopped talking about Kursk
In December 2024, Ukrainian soldiers told BBC News that they were ordered to maintain control of the part of the Kursk region held since August, at least until the inauguration of Trump, which took place on January 20, 2025.
President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly emphasized the need to "push out" Ukrainian troops from Russian territory. However, since January, he has stopped publicly mentioning the situation in the Kursk region.
At the beginning of January, the Armed Forces of Ukraine made a new offensive, advancing about two miles, and in February they broke through the defense to the southeast of Sudzha—in the area of the villages of Makhnivka and Cherkaska Konopelka—and took control of the village of Fanasiyevka.
