Ukrainian politician Kira Rudik told Newsmax on Saturday that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not have the authority from the Ukrainian people to surrender territory to Russia, underscoring a central tension in international peace efforts.
Rudik, a member of Ukraine’s parliament from the Holos party, made the remarks during an appearance on “The Count” following President Donald Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Trump has said he pressed Putin for a ceasefire, but the Russian leader rejected the proposal and instead demanded Kyiv give up parts of eastern Ukraine in exchange for halting fighting elsewhere.
“Well, of course, there is a certain disappointment that there was not an immediate ceasefire, that President Trump was clearly trying to get out of Putin,” Rudik said.
“But we are looking forward to a meeting in Washington, D.C. We hope that President Zelenskyy would not appear there alone, and it would be best for everyone to have one of the European leaders going there representing Europe, because all in all, the main question that needs to be discussed is those security guarantees that President Trump mentioned that Europe needs to be involved and take more responsibility, and that Ukraine needs to have on our ground.”
Rudik emphasized that any settlement requiring Ukraine to relinquish land would face strong resistance from its citizens.
“I want to make it very clear that President Zelenskyy does not have a mandate from [the] Ukrainian people to give up any territories,” she said. “It’s a complex process that I do not see any willingness on the ground [for that] to happen. So this is something that will be obviously a tense tension point, but we only hope for good.”
Her comments come as Trump has reportedly told European leaders the United States may be willing to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, a shift in Washington’s potential role in the settlement of the conflict. According to officials cited by The Wall Street Journal, Trump told Putin that any peace deal would require the presence of Western troops in Ukraine to ensure it holds.
Rudik also stressed that Ukraine has already complied with requests made by Trump in pursuit of peace.
“I want to say again and again that Ukraine is a victim of this aggression,” she said. “We have agreed to every single thing that President Trump has asked of us, starting from the ceasefire unconditionally, and then to ratifying and voting for the rare minerals deal that will give the United States a stake in Ukraine’s future. So [we are] looking forward for peace.”
Zelenskyy is expected in Washington on Monday, where talks are likely to focus on security guarantees.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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