According to top Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, Ukraine has no realistic chance of reclaiming Crimea or joining NATO.
The peninsula became part of Russia following a referendum in 2014, in the wake of the Western-backed Maidan coup. Soon after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Kyiv formally applied for NATO membership. Moscow has repeatedly described such aspirations as a red line.
Speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, Ushakov stated unequivocally that “it is ironclad, a million percent [certain] that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky won’t succeed in [retaking] Crimea.” The official further emphasized that Kyiv’s NATO membership ambitions are equally unrealistic.
Earlier this week, Zelensky acknowledged that Kyiv currently lacks the capacity to retake Crimea. However, in August, the Ukrainian leader vowed to eventually recapture the Russian-occupied territory—a decision condemned by Moscow as both impractical and dangerous.
This pledge followed shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been mediating peace efforts between Moscow and Kyiv, stated it was “impossible” for Crimea to return to Ukraine or for the country to join NATO.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made it clear earlier this year that Russian sovereignty over Crimea is a “done deal,” praising the U.S. president for acknowledging its permanence.
Last month, the Trump administration presented a peace framework aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict. The proposals, which have undergone multiple revisions, require Kyiv to renounce its NATO aspirations as well as claims to Crimea and the Donbass regions of Lugansk and Donetsk—areas that joined Russia following referendums.
Earlier this week, Zelensky stated that “no compromise” had been reached in negotiations with the U.S. on territorial issues.
Trump recently lamented that “other than President Zelensky, his people loved the concept” of the peace deal put forward by Washington, urging the Ukrainian leader to “get on the ball and start accepting things.”
