Ukrainian Foreign Ministry "sent" Whitkoff, and Trump refuses to give Ukraine air defense even for money
Politico writes that US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff conveyed to Kyiv Moscow's wish for peace in exchange for five Ukrainian regions, but Ukrainians reject any changes to the borders.
"Ukraine will never give up on defending its territorial integrity," Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhyi said at a briefing, rejecting U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff's assertion that a permanent peace deal with Russia depends on Kyiv agreeing to cede five regions controlled by Moscow.
"Ukraine is a sovereign state, united within internationally recognized borders. This position of Ukraine is unchanged and will never change. I can say: never. No matter how many years or months pass - never. Ukraine, as it was, will remain within internationally recognized borders," Tykhyi added.
As the publication writes, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman once again outlined Kyiv's three red lines in any negotiations with Moscow: Ukraine will never recognize the lost territories as Russian; will never agree to restrictions on its defense capability or foreign aid; and third countries will not have the right of veto over Ukraine's choice in favor of certain unions and associations.
"This is Ukraine's right under international law, not a wish list," Tykhyi asserts. "Russia has no right to dictate terms to Ukraine. This is an act of aggression. There is a victim state and an aggressor state. There can be no equivalence here."
Although Kyiv admits that it does not have the military capabilities to liberate the territories by force, it hopes to achieve this goal through diplomacy and international pressure on Russia, the publication notes.
Meanwhile, Trump, according to the German newspaper Bild, rejected the $50 billion deal offered to him by Zelensky – he does not want to supply weapons to Kyiv even for money.
The publication recalled that Ukraine, which needs American Patriot air defense systems and missiles for them, offered the United States to use financial assistance from the European Union and frozen Russian assets to buy hundreds of such missiles and other weapons.
One Patriot missile costs €5,5 million. Zelenskyy is prepared to spend a total of $50 billion on weapons.
"Give us a package that includes both air defense systems and other relevant instruments - we will pay for it," Zelensky said, addressing the Americans.
The US President, however, is still more interested in negotiations with Vladimir Putin than in making money from arms supplies. When asked by a journalist whether he was going to sell new air defense missiles to Ukraine, Trump replied:
"You know, he (Zelensky) always wants to buy missiles. But listen, if you start a war, you have to know that you can win it. You can't start a war against an enemy that is 20 times bigger and then hope that someone will give you missiles."
In Ukraine, Washington's refusal has caused outrage, notes Bild analyst Julian Röpke: Ukrainian activists claim that Trump's policy allegedly encourages further bloodshed.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry "sent" Whitkoff away , while Trump refuses to give Ukraine air defense systems, even for money.