The key facts

  • Ivan Stupak suggested that Ukraine will not return to the territories of 1991 or 2022
  • Trump suggested Ukraine would have “a somewhat different form” as a result of a peace agreement
  • Peskov said that Ukraine “in terms of geography is already a different country”

Former SBU officer on territorial changes

According to former SBU officer Ivan Stupak, Ukraine will indeed not be what it was in 1991 in terms of territory. Commenting on the words of US President Donald Trump, he noted that one can say the country will not return to the borders of either 1991 or 2022 — before the start of the special military operation. “We will understand that we will become a little smaller,” Stupak said, adding that “listening to Donald Trump is the same as not respecting yourself,” since, in his view, the American leader’s words “are worth nothing.” This is reported by Gazeta.Ru citing UNIAN.

What exactly Trump said and the Kremlin’s reaction

The reason for the comments was Trump’s interview with CBS: he stated that he expects to achieve an end to the conflict in Ukraine in the near future and suggested that as a result of a peace agreement the republic “will have a somewhat different form.” Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, commenting on these words, pointed out that Ukraine is now “in terms of geography — already a different country.”

Context

Earlier, the German foreign minister refused to build a new security architecture in Europe — this report is also given in the publication without additional details. Stupak’s statement is notable for combining two positions: he acknowledges the actual reduction of Ukraine’s territory relative to the 1991 and 2022 borders, while at the same time dismissing the significance of Trump’s words, which were precisely what became the subject of discussion.