Zelenskyy refuses to cede land to Russia as he rallies European support

ROME (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Rome on Tuesday, continuing mobilize European support for Ukraine, while resisting US pressure for a painful compromise with Russia.

On Monday, Zelensky held talks in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to strengthen Ukraine's position amid growing impatience US President Donald Trump.

The President of Ukraine arrived at Castel Gandolfo, the papal residence near Rome, to meet with Pope Leo XIV and will later hold talks with Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.

Answering questions from reporters in a WhatsApp chat late Monday, Zelensky reiterated his firm refusal to cede any territory, saying “we clearly don’t want to give anything away,” even though “the Americans are looking for a compromise today, I’ll be honest.”

“Undoubtedly, Russia insists that we give up the territories,” he said. “According to the law, we do not have such a right. According to the law of Ukraine, our constitution, international law, and, frankly speaking, we do not have a moral right either.”

Facing pressure from Trump

U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators wrapped up three days of talks Saturday aimed at trying to narrow differences over the U.S. administration's peace proposal.

The main stumbling block in this plan is the proposal that Kyiv should cede control of the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine to Russia, which illegally occupies most, but not all, of the territory. Ukraine and its European allies strongly resist the idea of ​​land transfers.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday evening, Trump appeared disappointed with Zelensky, saying the Ukrainian leader “hasn't read that sentence yet.”

Trump has had a hot and cold relationship with Zelensky since winning his second term, and he has insisted the war was a waste of American taxpayers' money. Trump has also repeatedly called on the Ukrainians to cede land to Russia to end the nearly four-year conflict.

Zelensky said on Monday that Trump “of course wants to end the war… Surely, he has his own vision. We live here, we see the details and nuances from the inside, we perceive everything much more deeply, because this is our Motherland.”

He said the current US peace plan differed from earlier versions in that it now had 20 points instead of 28, after he said some “obvious anti-Ukrainian points had been removed”.

Europeans support Ukraine

Starmer, Macron and Merz strongly supported Kyiv. On Monday, the British leader said the pursuit of peace was at a “critical stage” and stressed the need for a “just and lasting ceasefire.”

Merz, meanwhile, said he was “skeptical” about some of the details of the documents released by the US. “We have to talk about this. That's why we're here,” he said. “The coming days… may be a defining time for all of us.”

European leaders are working to ensure that any ceasefire is backed by strong security guarantees from both Europe and the United States to deter further attacks by Russia. Trump has made no explicit guarantees publicly.

Zelensky and his European allies have repeatedly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging out negotiations to push ahead with the invasion while his forces make slow and steady gains while waves of missiles and drones rain down on Ukrainian infrastructure.

Russia and Ukraine exchange air strikes

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 110 drones of various types across the country last night. According to them, air defense systems neutralized 84 drones, and another 24 hit their targets.

Several regions of Ukraine faced blackouts on Tuesday due to previous Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, according to Ukraine's national energy operator Ukrenergo.

Ukraine, in turn, continued drone attacks on Russia.

Russian air defenses overnight destroyed 121 Ukrainian drones over various regions of Russia and occupied Crimea, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. In Chuvashia, a region about 900 kilometers (about 560 miles) northeast of the border with Ukraine, the attack damaged homes and wounded nine people, local governor Oleg Nikolaev said in an online statement.

Ukraine's security service carried out a drone attack on a liquefied petroleum gas terminal at the port of Temryuk in Russia's Krasnodar region on December 5, an official familiar with the operation told The Associated Press.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said the strike sparked a major fire at the site. More than 20 liquefied petroleum gas storage tanks were set on fire and burned for more than three days, he said. The attack also damaged railway tanks, an intermediate refueling tank and a loading and unloading platform.

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Novikov reported from Kyiv, Ukraine.