Moscow: Russia has rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's proposal to let the Ukrainian population decide on territorial concessions in the eastern Donbass region through a referendum. "This area is Russian territory," Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said, referring to Russia's 2022 annexation of the Ukrainian region. Ushakov emphasized that Zelensky's goal is to include proposals within the peace plan with the United States that will be unacceptable to Russia during negotiations.

According to Qatar News Agency, Ushakov noted that Russia has not yet seen the documents currently being discussed with senior representatives of European countries. He expressed concerns that the new version could be even worse and unacceptable to Russia. Ushakov also reiterated Moscow's demands for the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbass as a prerequisite for a ceasefire. He stated that it is entirely possible that there will be no armed forces present immediately, neither Russian nor Ukrainian.

Zelensky stated on Thursday that only the Ukrainian people could decide on territorial issues, for example, through a referendum. A few months after the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia annexed the Donbass-which includes the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk-as well as the provinces of Kherson and Zaporizhzhya into its state territory through a constitutional amendment.