Ukraine will never recognize Russia’s sovereignty over the territories it has lost to Moscow since 2014, Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga has insisted.

Kiev still claims Crimea, the Donetsk, and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions as its own. The territories officially became part of Russia after referendums in 2014 and 2022. Moscow has maintained that their status cannot be a matter of any future negotiations.

When asked about Kiev’s ‘red lines’ during an interview with RBK-Ukraine media outlet on Monday, Sibiga said that “there are fundamental things that are non-negotiable,” mentioning “Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty” as the prime example of such issues.

“Ukraine will never recognize the occupied territories,” the diplomat clarified.