Zelenskyy responds to Trump's envoy Witkoff's "five territories" remarks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has commented on the statement made by Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, who said the key to a peace deal revolves around "five territories".

"Ukraine is a sovereign state, and only the Ukrainian people can speak about its territories.

All territories belong to the unitary state of Ukraine. Once again – only the Ukrainian people can speak about our territories. And you know what our red lines are – we will never recognise any temporarily occupied territories as Russian.

Therefore, these individuals are discussing matters beyond their mandate," Zelenskyy said at a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Odesa, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine.

Witkoff stated on Fox News that a peace deal would involve settling the issue of "so-called five territories", though he did not specify which ones.

Previously, in a high-profile interview with Tucker Carlson, Witkoff claimed that the biggest issue in this conflict was the "so-called four regions", but then listed five: "Donbas, Crimea, Luhansk, and two more".

Following these remarks, Reuters reported that some of Witkoff’s statements and actions regarding Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine have drawn criticism in the White House and among Republicans.