Ukraine cannot remove Russian troops from the land they occupy in the east of the country and Crimea, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has admitted.
While Kyiv would never recognise Russia’s rule, he said diplomacy is the only option to get President Vladimir Putin to withdraw his army.
It comes less than a month after he gave similar remarks to Sky News, when he suggested a ceasefire deal could be struck under certain conditions.
On Wednesday, he told French newspaper Le Parisien his forces “do not have the strength” to recover land taken by Russia.
“We cannot give up our territories. The Ukrainian constitution forbids us to do so,” he said.
“De facto, these territories are now controlled by the Russians. We do not have the strength to recover them.
“We can only count on diplomatic pressure from the international community to force Putin to sit down at the negotiating table.”
The Ukrainian president’s remarks came as the UK Defence Secretary John Healey announced a further £225m in military support during a visit to Kyiv.
Mr Healey said the UK would “step up our international leadership on Ukraine throughout 2025. We will enhance our offer of training to Ukraine and provide battle-winning capabilities, such as the drones and munitions included in our new £225m package today”.
Zelenskyy now voicing the reality that’s been apparent for a long time
On the same day, NATO’s chief said he wants to put Ukraine in a position of strength for any future peace talks with Russia.
But Mark Rutte also appeared frustrated at speculation around when those peace talks might start, arguing that speaking publicly about it plays into Mr Putin’s hands.
“High on the agenda is to make sure that the president, his team in Ukraine, are in the best possible position one day when they decide to start the peace talks,” he said.
The focus, he added, must be “to do everything now to make sure that when it comes to air defence… we make sure that we provide whatever we can”.
The Kremlin said last week the Ukraine war will continue until the goals set by Mr Putin are achieved by military action or by negotiation.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no talks between Moscow and Kyiv are under way because “the Ukrainian side refuses any negotiations”.
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Zelenskyy on how ceasefire could work
In an interview with Sky News last month, Mr Zelenskyy suggested a ceasefire deal could be struck if the Ukrainian territory he controls could be taken “under the NATO umbrella”.
This would then allow him to negotiate the return of the rest later “in a diplomatic way”.
“If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control,” he said.
“We need to do it fast. And then on the [occupied] territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way.”
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Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday night ahead of a meeting between Mr Zelenskyy and various European leaders including Mr Rutte, UK foreign secretary David Lammy said he does “not see Putin at this stage ready to negotiate”.
“What I see is him firing more missiles, is him sending more young men to their slaughter, is him wanting to divide European allies at this time,” he said.
“We have to remember that you get nowhere with appeasement. You get nowhere with going to the negotiation table with a weak hand.”
He added the “truth” is Mr Putin is “not a man that you can negotiate with” when he is “causing such mayhem on European soil”.
Hours earlier, Downing Street said Sir Keir Starmer has spoken to US president-elect Donald Trump and “reiterated the need for allies to stand together with Ukraine”.