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

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

2025-12-09 17:55 Last Updated At：18:00

ROME (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the pope near Rome on Tuesday as he continued to rally European support for Ukraine while resisting U.S. pressure for a painful compromise with Russia.

Answering reporters’ questions in a WhatsApp chat, Zelenskyy reaffimed his firm refusal to cede any territory, saying that “we clearly don’t want to give up anything,” even as "the Americans are looking for a compromise today, I will be honest.”

“Undoubtedly, Russia insists for us to give up territories,” he said in the message late Monday. ”According to the law we don’t have such right. According to Ukraine’s law, our constitution, international law, and to be frank, we don’t have a moral right either."

The Ukrainian president met early Tuesday with Pope Leo XIV at Castel Gandolfo, a papal residence outside Rome, and is to have talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni later. The Vatican said that Leo “reiterated the need for the continuation of dialogue and expressed his urgent desire that the current diplomatic initiatives bring about a just and lasting peace.”

The Holy See has tried to remain neutral in the war while offering solidarity and assistance to what it calls the “martyred” people of Ukraine. Leo has met now three times with Zelenskyy and has spoken by telephone at least once with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The American pope has called for a ceasefire and urged Russia in particular to make gestures to promote peace.

On Monday, Zelenskyy held talks in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to strengthen Ukraine’s hand amid mounting impatience from U.S. President Donald Trump.

U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators completed three days of talks on Saturday aimed at trying to narrow differences on the U.S. administration’s peace proposal.

A major sticking point in the plan is the suggestion that Kyiv must cede control of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine to Russia, which illegally occupies most but not all of the territory. Ukraine and its European allies have firmly resisted the idea of handing over land.

In an exchange with reporters on Sunday night, Trump appeared frustrated with Zelenskyy, claiming the Ukrainian leader “hasn’t yet read the proposal.”

Trump has had a hot-and-cold relationship with Zelenskyy since winning a second term, insisting the war was a waste of U.S. taxpayers’ money. Trump has also repeatedly urged the Ukrainians to cede land to Russia to end the nearly four-year conflict.

Zelenskyy said Monday that Trump “certainly wants to end the war. ... Surely, he has his own vision. We live here, from within we see details and nuances, we perceive everything much deeper, because this is our motherland.”

He said the current U.S. peace plan differs from earlier versions in that it now has 20 points, down from 28, after he said some “obvious anti-Ukrainian points were removed.”

Starmer, Macron and Merz strongly backed Kyiv, with the U.K. leader saying Monday that the push for peace was at a “critical stage,” and stressed the need for “a just and lasting ceasefire.”

Merz, meanwhile, said he was “skeptical” about some details in documents released by the U.S. “We have to talk about it. That’s why we are here,” he said. “The coming days … could be a decisive time for all of us.”

European leaders are working to ensure that any ceasefire is backed by solid security guarantees both from Europe and the U.S. to deter Russia from attacking again. Trump has not given explicit guarantees in public.

Zelenskyy and his European allies have repeatedly accused Putin of slow-walking the talks to press ahead with the invasion as his forces are making slow buy steady gains while waves of missiles and drones are pummeling Ukrainian infrastructure.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia fired 110 drones of various types across the country last night. They said air defenses neutralized 84 drones, 24 more have struck their targets.

Several regions of Ukraine faced emergency blackouts Tuesday due to Russia’s prior attacks on energy infrastructure, according to Ukraine’s national energy operator, Ukrenergo.

Ukraine, in its turn, continued its drone attacks on Russia.

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

Ukraine’s Security Service carried out a drone attack on an LPG terminal at the port of Temryuk in Russia’s Krasnodar region on Dec. 5, according to an official with knowledge of the operation who spoke to The Associated Press.

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

Novikov reported from Kyiv, Ukraine.

Cambodia vows fierce fight against Thailand in escalating border conflict

SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Cambodia’s powerful Senate President Hun Sen on Tuesday vowed that his country would carry out a fierce fight against Thailand as a second day of widespread renewed combat between the Southeast Asian neighbors drove tens of thousands of people to flee border areas.

Fighting broke out following a skirmish on Sunday during which two Thai soldiers were injured, derailing a ceasefire that ended fighting over competing territorial claims in July. The five days of fighting then left dozens dead on both sides, and forced the evacuation of over 100,000 civilians.

In a sign that neither side was willing to back down, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Tuesday that Cambodia had not yet contacted Thailand about possible negotiations and the fighting would continue.

“We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do,” he said. “The government will support all kinds of military operations as planned earlier.” He had said Monday that military action was necessary to safeguard the nation’s sovereignty and ensure public safety.

In a statement posted to Facebook and Telegram, Hun Sen claimed that his country had refrained from retaliating on Monday, but overnight began to fire back at Thai forces, saying Cambodia would "weaken and destroy enemy forces through counterattacks.”

Thailand’s military said Cambodia attacked Thai positions with artillery and rocket and drone attacks on Tuesday. Thailand says that Cambodian forces also fired at its troops Sunday and Monday, but each side blames the other for firing the first shots.

“Cambodia wants peace, but Cambodia is forced to fight back to defend its territory,” Hun Sen wrote. He was Cambodia’s long-serving prime minister until 2023, when he was succeeded by his son Hun Manet, but is still widely seen as the country’s de facto leader.

Cambodia’s military announced Tuesday that the new fighting had killed seven civilians and wounded 20. A Thai military spokesperson announced Tuesday that three soldiers have been killed in the new fighting.

Thailand on Monday carried out airstrikes along the frontier, which it said were a defensive action targeting military installations. Thai military spokesperson Rear Adm. Surasant Kongsiri said Tuesday that such operations would continue “until attacks stop.”

Ordinary citizens meanwhile had to deal with life after being relocated from the danger zones.

An evacuation shelter at a university in Thailand's northeastern city of Surin is hosting more than 3,600 people. Evacuees sit or lie on thin mats spread across the floor, and several have set up small tents in their allotted areas as sleeping spaces.

At lunchtime, some line up with their own plates to receive cooked rice, while others wait in place to be served ready-to-eat meals packed in small plastic bags. An army band plays for their entertainment.

Portable fans cool them during the day. Blankets, in piles beside them, keep them warm at night, when temperatures can fall to as low as 18 C (64 F).

“We were preparing to evacuate. We hadn’t left yet. But when we heard shots we hurried out immediately," cassava farmer Pan-ngam Kanchangthong told The Associated Press. "I was scared. Who wouldn’t be scared of shelling?”

The Thai army said almost 500 temporary shelters have been set up in four border provinces, accommodating 125,838 people. Additionally displaced people from the fighting are expected to stay with relatives in safe areas.

Evacuees on the Cambodian side had similar experiences.

“I felt terrified when I heard the sound of the explosion from the shelling. At that time, I was working at the garment factory," said 44-year-old Vach Neang, a father of seven.

“I called my wife and my kids but couldn't reach them, and by that time the sound of explosions was getting louder, so the factory owner let us go home," said Vach Neang, speaking at a former market in Cambodia’s northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey that has been repurposed as a shelter, He added that he packed just a few clothes before leaving his home.

Cambodian Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said almost 55,000 people have been evacuated and the numbers are mounting.

Thailand and Cambodia have a history of enmity over centuries and experience periodic tensions along their land border of more than 800 kilometers (500 miles). Centuries ago both were powerful empires, but Thailand's size and greater development over the past century give it the military advantage.

Some of the disputed territory hosts centuries-old temples that both nations covet as part of their legacy.

The ceasefire that ended July’s fighting was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges from the two nations unless they agreed to it.

A more detailed agreement signed in October called for removing heavy weapons from the border; desisting from disseminating false information and harmful rhetoric; implementing measures to restore mutual trust; and coordinating operations to remove land mines.

None of these actions appear to have been fully implemented by either side. After the ceasefire, both nations continued to fight a bitter propaganda war using disinformation, alongside minor outbreaks of cross-border violence.

A major Cambodian complaint has been that Thailand continues to hold 18 prisoners who were taken captive the same day the ceasefire went into effect. Thailand claims they approached its positions in a threatening manner, an allegation denied by Phnom Penh.

Meanwhile, Thailand accuses Cambodia of laying new land mines in the areas under dispute, in several cases maiming Thai soldiers. Cambodia says the mines are left over from decades of civil war that ended in 1999.

The mines issue caused Thailand to declare earlier this month that it was indefinitely pausing implementation of the details of the ceasefire until Cambodia apologized for the latest incident wounding Thai soldiers.

A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that a Thai soldier was killed during a skirmish on Sunday. Two Thai soldiers were injured during the skirmish on Sunday, according to the Thai military, but none were reported killed.

Sopheng Cheang reported from Mongkol Borey, Cambodia.