KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥 A peace proposal by the Trump administration that includes recognizing Russian authority over Crimea shocked Ukrainian officials, who say they will not accept any formal surrender of the peninsula, even though they expect to concede the territory to the Kremlin, at least temporarily.
Giving up the land that was in 2014 is also politically and legally impossible, according to experts. It would require a change to the Ukrainian constitution and a nationwide vote, and it could be considered treason. Lawmakers and the public are firmly opposed to the idea.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean anything,鈥 said Oleksandr Merezkho, a lawmaker with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy鈥檚 party. 鈥淲e will never recognize Crimea as part of Russia.鈥
Unlike a territorial concession, a formal surrender would permanently relinquish Crimea and abandon the hope that Ukraine could regain it in the future.
The Ukrainian public largely understands that land must be ceded as part of any armistice because there is no way to retake it militarily. Polls indicate a rising percentage of the population accepts such a trade-off.
But much of the public messaging about land concessions has suggested that they are not necessarily permanent, as when Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko told the BBC recently that Ukraine may need to temporarily give up land as part of a peace deal.
Saying otherwise would effectively admit defeat 鈥 a deeply unpopular move, especially for Ukrainians living under Russian occupation who hope to be liberated and reunited with their families one day. It also would call into question the sacrifices made by tens of thousands of Ukrainian service members who have been killed or wounded.
U.S. President Donald Trump in an interview published Friday in Time magazine: 鈥淐rimea will stay with Russia. Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it鈥檚 been with them for a long time.鈥
His comments offered the latest example of the U.S. leader pressuring Ukraine to make concessions to end while it remains under siege. Trump has also accused Zelenskyy of by resisting negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Crimea, along the Black Sea in southern Ukraine, was seized by Russia years before the full-scale invasion that began in 2022. The Russian takeover followed large protests that ousted former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who had refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union.
In the lead-up to peace talks, Ukrainian officials told The Associated Press for months that they expect Crimea and other Ukrainian territory controlled by Russia to be among Kyiv鈥檚 concessions in the event of any deal. But Zelenskyy has said on multiple occasions that formally surrendering the land has always been a red line.
Elements of Trump鈥檚 peace proposal would see the U.S. formally recognizing Crimea as Russian and de facto accepting Moscow鈥檚 rule over occupied Ukrainian territories, according to a senior European official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic discussions.
Whether the U.S. formally recognizes Crimea as Russian is out of Zelenskyy鈥檚 hands. But many obstacles prevent the Ukrainian president from doing so, even under immense pressure. He cannot unilaterally sign any such proposal, and he could be reprimanded by future governments for even attempting it, experts said.
Ukraine began to accept that it would not regain its lost territories after the . From then on, the Ukrainian military concentrated on defending the territory it still held.
In return for territorial concessions, Ukraine wants robust security guarantees that ideally would include NATO membership or concrete plans to arm and train its forces against any future Russian invasion with the pledged support of allies. One scenario envisions European boots on the ground, which Russia rejects.
Zelenskyy has said negotiations over occupied Ukrainian territory will be drawn out and will not likely occur until a ceasefire is in place. In late March, he told reporters after a call with Trump that the U.S. president 鈥渃learly understands that legally we will not recognize any territories.鈥
He said giving up territory would be 鈥渢he most difficult question鈥 and 鈥渁 big challenge for us.鈥
Formal recognition of Crimea would also amount to political suicide for Zelenskyy. It could expose him to legal action in the future, said Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics and a former economics minister.
Signing a potentially unconstitutional document could be interpreted as high treason, Mylovanov said.
The Ukrainian government cannot act either. It has no constitutional means to accept a violation of its territorial integrity, and altering the territorial makeup of the country requires a nationwide referendum.
If Ukrainian lawmakers were even to entertain the idea of surrendering Crimea, it would trigger a long, drawn-out legal debate.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why Russia is pushing it, because they know it鈥檚 impossible to achieve,鈥 Mylovanov said.
鈥淎nything related to constitutional change gives so much policy and public communication space to Russia," he added. "This is all they want.鈥
Soldiers on the front line say they will never stop fighting, no matter what the political leadership decides.
鈥淲e lost our best guys in this war,鈥 said Oleksandr, a soldier in the Donetsk region, who spoke on the condition that only his first name be used in line with military protocols. 鈥淲e won鈥檛 stop until all Ukrainian lands are free.鈥
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Associated Press Writer Hanna Arhirova contributed to this report.
