Shocked by US peace proposal, Ukrainians say they will not accept any formal surrender of Crimea
Source: AP
Updated 6:34 PM EDT, April 27, 2025
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A peace proposal by the Trump administration that includes recognizing Russian authority over Crimea shocked Ukrainian officials, who say they will not accept any formal surrender of the peninsula, even though they expect to concede the territory to the Kremlin, at least temporarily.
Giving up the land that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 is also politically and legally impossible, according to experts. It would require a change to the Ukrainian constitution and a nationwide vote, and it could be considered treason. Lawmakers and the public are firmly opposed to the idea.
“It doesn’t mean anything,” said Oleksandr Merezkho, a lawmaker with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s party. “We will never recognize Crimea as part of Russia.”
Unlike a territorial concession, a formal surrender would permanently relinquish Crimea and abandon the hope that Ukraine could regain it in the future. The Ukrainian public largely understands that land must be ceded as part of any armistice because there is no way to retake it militarily. Polls indicate a rising percentage of the population accepts such a trade-off.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-crimea-peace-talks-concession-58de3cf0bd289e2e2377a9e4914285c0
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I.e., the period in the early '90s when the U.S.S.R. under Gorbachev officially dissolved and a pile of new nations were formed when they broke away - WITH their existing borders - and that included Ukraine. The (drunk) Yeltsin then took control of what became "Russia". 
That whole period from the late '80s - mid '90s was really historically significant and it's interesting how it has been minimized.
There was a whole realignment of that area including bordering "East Germany", which eventually went away with the "reunification" to become one "Germany". You also eventually had the finalization of what would become the EU.