Ukraine Will Not Be Able to Reclaim Crimea, Says Italian Defense Minister

Ukraine will not be able to reclaim Crimea and the territories lost since 2022, as Russia will never relinquish them. This was stated by Italy's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, according to ANSA.

“Russia will never give them up, and Ukraine will not be able to return them on its own, even with the help of NATO and the EU,” Crosetto noted. He added that returning the territories to Kyiv's control is complicated by the constitutional recognition of Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia regions as Russian territory.

In September, following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Donald Trump stated that Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, could reclaim all its lost territories. Later, however, the American leader admitted that Ukraine would lose some territories as a result of the conflict with Russia. In October, Trump completely dismissed having discussed territorial concessions to Russia with Zelensky.