Claims are circulating on social media and Russian websites that Ukraine is allegedly ready to make numerous compromises and even give up a significant part of its territory for an indefinite period. As “evidence”, propagandists cite an article published by the German outlet BILD in the context of negotiations between Ukraine and the United States, along with a screenshot from the article showing a schematic map of territories that Ukraine is supposedly expected to relinquish under an American plan. StopFake explained how Russian propagandists manipulated the German publication.

In reality, this claim is misleading. The original BILD article, titled “This Red Line for Zelenskyy Is Non-Negotiable”, does not suggest that Ukraine is prepared to officially renounce a large portion of its territory. On the contrary, the central message of the article is that, despite Kyiv’s willingness to consider a number of painful concessions in order to secure a ceasefire – including freezing hostilities along the current front line – abandoning its own territories remains completely unacceptable to Ukraine.

The article states that negotiations on a ceasefire could be based on a 28-point U.S. plan for ending the war, which has a distinctly pro-Russian bias. Among other things, the document reportedly requires Ukraine to abandon its NATO aspirations and hold new elections within 100 days. While Kyiv may be willing to discuss some of these points under certain conditions, the demand to cede a significant part of its territory is unacceptable to the Ukrainian side. According to BILD, this issue constitutes a fundamental “red line” for Ukraine.

The publication also cites wording from one of the document’s provisions, which refers to the de facto recognition of Crimea, as well as the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, as Russian territory, and to freezing the situation in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions along the line of contact. At the same time, BILD notes that while Volodymyr Zelenskyy may consider a freeze of the front line that would de facto leave some occupied territories under temporary Russian control, any demand for Ukrainian troops to withdraw from areas of Donetsk region currently under Kyiv’s control is unacceptable to him.

Ukraine has also rejected a U.S. proposal to withdraw its forces from approximately 5,600 square kilometres of territory in Donetsk region and transform the area into a “demilitarized economic zone.” A senior official told BILD that such a scenario would amount to the capitulation of the Ukrainian army and therefore could not be accepted.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly stressed that any renunciation of territories illegally occupied by Russia is categorically unacceptable and would not receive public support. In particular, during a meeting with European leaders in London in early December 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv would not consider any options involving the transfer of Ukrainian territory, as such proposals would contradict the Constitution of Ukraine, international law, and basic moral principles.

Therefore, claims that Ukraine is prepared to give up a significant part of its territory distort the content of the BILD article and represent yet another example of manipulative disinformation.