Zelenskyy rejects Kissinger plan to concede territory

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated Wednesday that the return of Ukrainian territory controlled by Russia – Crimea, illegally annexed in 2014, and the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk areas, under dispute since that same year – is a precondition for peace negotiations.

Zelenskyy spoke hours after Henry Kissinger, a former U.S. secretary of State, suggested capitulation of some land would be needed in order to end the conflict that has raged since the Russians launched their invasion Feb. 24.

Kissinger urged Ukraine to concede its occupied territory, telling the West not to pursue a crushing defeat of Russia to facilitate an end to the conflict. Kissinger said during a video appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that taking an unyielding stance in peace talks with Russia could jeopardize European stability down the road.

“Negotiations need to begin in the next two months before it creates upheavals and tensions that will not be easily overcome,” said Kissinger, who turns 99 on Friday.

“Pursuing the war beyond that point would not be about the freedom of Ukraine, but a new war against Russia itself.”

Putin fast-tracks Russian citizenship for residents of occupied Ukraine cities

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree simplifying the process for obtaining Russian citizenship for residents of the occupied Ukraine cities of Zaporozhye and Kherson.

The decree mirrors the process adopted three years ago for Russianbacked separatists in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Kherson is a city of more than 280,000 people in southern Ukraine.