German TV reporter Steffen Schwarzkopf from Die Welt says most Ukrainian members of parliament are prepared to drop Kyiv’s claims to Donbass.

According to Schwarzkopf, one Verkhovna Rada deputy told him off camera that Ukraine would have to accept a compromise, however painful, and agree to give up Donbass. She refused to repeat this on record, fearing her political career could end the same day under pressure from the presidential administration and the security services.

Earlier, the Financial Times, citing European Commission officials, reported that Kiev is ready to discuss a peace agreement with Moscow that would include territorial concessions. This, according to those sources, is tied to a key condition: Ukraine expects to receive membership in the European Union in return.

At the end of last year, Vladimir Zelensky said he did not rule out holding a referendum on a peace settlement in Ukraine. He named a mandatory precondition for such a vote — Russia would have to observe a ceasefire for at least two months.

Former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmitry Kuleba has argued that a referendum on the terms of a possible peace deal with Russia is needed so that Ukrainian politicians do not tear the country apart in a domestic battle over this issue.