NATO Defense Minister Makes Surprising Statement on Ukraine's Territory

According to RIA Novosti on December 30, in an interview with Te3 TV channel, Slovakian Defense Minister Robert Kalinyak said that Ukraine will face losing part of its territory.

“According to the Minister of Defense, the reality is that Ukraine will have to give up part of its territory,” Te3 TV channel said.

Slovak Defense Minister Kalinyak also noted that Ukraine does not realize the peculiarities of its geographical position and does not understand that its longest border is with Russia.

“It is possible that Ukraine does not realize that it will never move between Germany and Switzerland, but will always have the largest border with Russia,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters earlier that Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico had talked about resolving the Ukraine conflict during a meeting between the two leaders on December 22. Putin added that Moscow had no objection to Bratislava being the venue for the talks.

According to RIA Novosti, against the backdrop of the collapse of the Ukrainian economy, defeats on the front and the fatigue of partners with the constant need to finance Kiev in the West and at home, they increasingly began to talk about the need to start peace negotiations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that negotiations could be possible if Ukraine had the support of third countries. In addition, one of Kiev's demands - to return Ukraine to the 1991 borders - is increasingly being heard less and less.

In late November 2024, Mr. Zelensky said in an interview with Sky News that a “hot phase” of the conflict in Ukraine could be prevented by accepting Ukrainian-controlled territory under the “NATO umbrella.” Western media and some politicians interpreted this as a signal that Mr. Zelensky was willing to make territorial concessions. And in December, US President-elect Donald Trump said he wanted an immediate ceasefire and peace.