No negotiation over annexed Ukrainian territory: Kremlin

Sub :IR

Sec : Places in news

Context:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has raised the possibility of exchanging territory with Russia as part of potential peace negotiations.
The Kremlin has rejected any negotiations over the status of five Ukrainian regions it claims to have annexed, despite not fully controlling four of them.
Russia has declared that the annexed territories are an integral part of Russia, as enshrined in its Constitution, making any negotiations over them unacceptable.

History of annexation:

In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea following a brief military operation and a controversial referendum that Ukraine and Western powers declared as illegitimate. This move marked the beginning of Russia’s territorial claims on Ukrainian land.
The referendum, held under duress, resulted in a vote that declared Crimea’s integration into Russia.
Following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia declared the annexation of four Ukrainian regions Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson in September 2022.
Russian forces have achieved varying levels of control, with most of Donetsk and Luhansk under Russian control, but only parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
Russian forces have largely controlled the Donetsk and Luhansk regions for years, but the annexation was formalized in 2022.

Ukrainian Advancements:

Ukraine has taken control of hundreds of square kilometres in Russia’s Kursk region, and Zelensky has suggested a potential “exchange” of territory with Moscow, an idea that Russia has rejected.