Andriy Yermak’s comments come as Putin says Russia will fight on unless Kyiv withdraws from territory. What we know on day 1,374

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not agree to give up land to Russia in exchange for peace , his chief of staff Andriy Yermak told US magazine the Atlantic in an interview published on Thursday. “As long as Zelenskyy is president, no one should count on us giving up territory. He will not sign away territory,” Yermak said.

The comments were published after Vladimir Putin said Russia will fight on unless Kyiv withdraws from territory Moscow claims as its own.Referring to the outline of a draft peace plan proposed by the US, Putin said it could serve as a basis for future negotiations to end the war but insists Ukraine has to surrender territory. “In general, we agree that this can be the basis for future agreements,” Putin said, noting that the version of the plan discussed by Washington and Kyiv in Geneva had been shared with Moscow. “We see that the American side takes our position into account in some areas,” he added. “But in other points, we clearly need to sit down and talk.” The Russian president’s uncompromising remarks – in which he again described Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “illegitimate” – suggested that, despite White House optimism, there is little sign of movement on the core sticking points needed to end the war.

Ukrainian and US delegations will meet this week , Zelenskyy has said,to work on points raised at the Geneva talks to bring peace with Russia and provide security guarantees for Ukraine.

Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever has said the European Union’s plan to use frozen Russian state assets to fund Ukraine could endanger a potential peace deal to end the nearly four-year war, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. “Hastily moving forward on the proposed reparations loan scheme would have, as a collateral damage, that we as EU are effectively preventing reaching an eventual peace deal,” De Wever said in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, seen by the FT.

Any peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine that includes an amnesty for war crimes could encourage other authoritarian leaders to attack their neighbours , Ukraine’s only Nobel peace prize winner has warned. Oleksandra Matviichuk said the leaked 28-point US-Russia plan did not account for “the human dimension” and she supported Zelenskyy’s efforts to rewrite it in dialogue with White House. “We need a peace, but not a pause that provides Russia a chance to retreat and regroup,” the Kyiv-based human rights lawyer said.

Moldova’s parliament has voted to close a Russian cultural centre in a new bid to reduce Moscow’s influence in the country a day after Russia’s ambassador was summoned over drone intrusions that Moldova said were unacceptable. Fifty-seven members of the 101-seat assembly backed the measure on Thursday. The government said the Russian Centre for Science and Culture in Chisinau could serve as an instrument to promote narratives posing a threat to Moldova’s security.