In brief

• Russia's chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky ruled out swapping occupied Ukrainian territory after two days of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi.
• Medinsky said land entered by Russian forces belongs to Russia and tied the claim to a border 'security zone' created after the Kursk incursion.
• Ukrainian military officials responded sharply, and US negotiator Jared Kushner called territory the hardest issue in the settlement.

Moscow rejects land swap

Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation at the two-day trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi between Ukraine, the United States and Russia, said Russia would not agree to exchange territory it has seized. Ukrainian outlets reported his remarks, which he made after the talks ended (У Путіна після переговорів в ОАЕ відкинули ідею "обміну територіями" для досягнення миру – UNIAN). The round was the first talks of this format in nine months and covered ending the war, territorial questions, security guarantees for Ukraine and humanitarian arrangements ("Де ступила нога російського солдата, там купа їхніх трупів": Жорін відповів Мединському – TSN).

What Medinsky said

In remarks cited by The Insider from a Russian state-media interview, Medinsky argued that any ground entered by Russian forces belongs to Russia. He said a Russian soldier's footprint marks Russian land and that the Russian flag on captured areas must not come down. He tied the claim to a 'security zone' along the border with Russia, which he said was created after Ukraine's incursion into Kursk oblast and has since grown (Мединский заявил, что «там, где ступила нога русского солдата, это Россия». Похожую фразу Гитлер произнес в разгар Сталинградской битвы – The Insider). Medinsky also said earlier concessions by Moscow had only led to larger losses. The Insider notes that Putin used the same formula at a forum in June 2025.

Ukrainian response

Maksym Zhorin, deputy commander of Ukraine's Third Army Corps, answered on social media. He said Russian soldiers leave piles of their own dead wherever they step, and that Russian forces on the front can only set records for losses.

US position

US negotiator Jared Kushner described the territorial issue as the hardest part of a settlement. He said no postwar security agreement for Ukraine can be concluded without an understanding on territory.

Context

Ukrainian outlets report that Medinsky's stance came as Ukrainian and US officials were also discussing whether Kyiv should cede parts of Donbas. Reports in British media said Washington had proposed changing borders in Donbas, a claim Ukraine's president has criticised (Глава российской делегации в Абу-Даби не видит возможности обмена территориями между Украиной ... – strana.news). Neither Ukrainian nor Western sources in these reports confirm that Russia has moved from its position.