There will be no peace: military sources told Focus when Ukraine might reclaim its lost territory.

Ukraine cannot reclaim all lost territories, but it will never recognize Russian occupation. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, there can be no compromises on issues of sovereignty.

"We cannot return all our territories. We are reasonable people. We cannot sacrifice millions of lives for an outcome that is not yet guaranteed. Therefore, we cannot violate the oath given to those who gave their lives for us in this war. We cannot breach the Constitution and recognize the occupied territories as Russian. We will never recognize these territories as Russian. This is not a matter of compromise or its absence. The sovereignty of a state cannot be compromised," said Volodymyr Zelensky.

Additionally, he noted that there is currently a lack of support from international partners to completely drive the enemy out of Ukrainian territory. However, it may be possible to reclaim them through military and diplomatic means in the future.

"We will still return our land because we are right, and we have not violated any aspect of international law or moral law," the president added.

Boundaries of 1991: Why Ukraine Cannot Reclaim Lost Territory?

Ukraine will not be able to reclaim lost territory in the near future, but according to former military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, lawyer Masi Naiem, it is possible in the long run.

He stated that Ukraine must be strong through technology and everything that depends on it—any strength that society and other countries need. He highlighted that considering the current situation, where most citizens do not wish to fight, and some of those who joined the army are partially injured, exhausted, and depleted, it will be difficult to reclaim the occupied territories.

According to solder Anastasia Blishchik, it is good that Volodymyr Zelensky has finally realized that with the forces Ukraine currently possesses, the assistance provided by foreign partners, and the number of soldiers, considering the not very successful mobilization, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will not be able to reclaim the captured territory.

She is convinced that such news is harmful because, in her opinion, neither side will sit down at the negotiating table tomorrow or in six months. Meanwhile, active fighting will continue on the front lines, particularly with the difficult situation in the Pokrovsk direction, worsening in the Lyman area, and ongoing battles in the Kursk region.

"Why do all the news about an imminent peace harm? Because the mobilization process seems to be completely halting right now. If before my acquaintances, former colleagues were writing that they wanted to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine, asking me for help to get into my unit, now I understand that no one wants to go anywhere; everyone thinks that the war will end tomorrow, and there’s no need to prepare, update data, go to the military recruitment office, or join the Armed Forces," the soldier explained.

"What will happen in six months? What can we do in two years? I am confident that Ukraine has the potential to, even under equal circumstances, if the situation in Russia does not change, still increase its capabilities to be able to reclaim its lost territories," the soldier declared.

Reaching the Borders of 2022: Will Ukraine Liberate Territory Before Negotiations with the Russian Federation?

Naiem believes that we will be able to return to the borders of 2022 before negotiations with the Russian Federation. He considers this the only option that society can agree upon. The return of these territories must become a primary condition, but we cannot ignore the deaths of soldiers who died for the liberation of these territories.

"The most important thing is those people. Honestly, I don't care about the territory. Just in these three years, an incredible number of very cool people have been killed," said the former military officer.

When asked what will happen if Ukraine reclaims the territories in five years, what will happen in the meantime, and whether fighting will continue, Masi Naiem replied that the question is who will last longer—Russia, which will claim the territory as its own, or Ukraine, which will insist on its rights. He is convinced that any fighting will cease if Ukraine recognizes that the territory is no longer its own. However, this must not be allowed.

"Nothing prevents Russia from acting tomorrow with the next territories that are located at the borders that we, God forbid, will relinquish—Donetsk and Luhansk regions. And we will immediately have, for example, Kharkiv and Sumy—they will also be taken, and then more will be taken," he explained.

According to him, the issue is not about the territories but about the principle. The principle is that "this is ours," and there is no argument as to why it suddenly became someone else's.

"This is ours; no one has rewritten it, no one has gifted it; we did not attack Russia, which punished us by taking territory. No, that did not happen. This is ours. So based on this, yes, there can be fighting. Or is that bad? Very bad. People will die—this is very bad. The question is that if we give this up, we will lose even more," Naiem concluded.

Blishchik noted that even in six months, there will be no peace; there may be a temporary freeze of hostilities, and then everything will revert to the times of the Joint Forces Operation, when there will be less shooting, but fighters will remain in position, and mobilization will continue.

"We must understand that people will still have to join the army so that all of us who have been in the Armed Forces of Ukraine for three years and more can go home," the soldier said.

However, she is convinced that by that time, Ukraine will not be able to reclaim the borders of 2022. After all, in 2023, the Defense Forces, possessing a lot of equipment and motivated fighters, attempted to reclaim the left bank of the Kherson region, but the counteroffensive failed, and the military did not reach Melitopol or break through to Crimea.

"Now, under the conditions that most people in our army are unmotivated, who were forcibly brought into the army, they will not go to reclaim any territories to reach the borders of 2022," she believes.

Blishchik shared that she is from the left bank of Kherson. Locals who remained under occupation tell how deeply the Russians have entrenched themselves, preparing a powerful line of defense and underground cities. The soldier believes that reclaiming this territory will take decades; preparation is needed, the army must be built, and production of equipment and shells must be ramped up. However, under current conditions, reaching the borders of 2022 is impossible. According to her, the battle for Crimea must be a planned operation. However, the main priority now is to hold what Ukraine has.

Lutsenko agrees that before negotiations with the Russian Federation, in the next six months, Ukraine will not be able to reclaim territory as of 2022. However, to de-occupy its land, radical reforms in the army need to be conducted, he believes, particularly against "sabotage and foolishness." There are already examples of such reforms and targeted improvements.

"Recently, we witnessed a heartwarming scene when several talented successful commanders gathered, and they even started bringing people back from the Special Operations Forces. This is somewhat similar to how we need to transform and who we need to transform into," he said.

There are also attempts to punish the guilty leaders in the army. Igor Lutsenko stated that these are the reforms that need to be implemented. He concluded that Ukraine has enormous potential for liberating territories, which is not even utilized to two-thirds in the current situation.

Recall that on February 4, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan that he is ready to sit down at the negotiating table with Russian leader Vladimir Putin if necessary to end the war.

On February 3, President of Poland Andrzej Duda stated that after the war in Ukraine, there may be a surge in international organized crime. He compared the current situation with Russia in the early '90s.