Media: Verkhovna Rada calls for Kiev to renounce its claims to Donbass January 18, 2026

The Verkhovna Rada declared that Kiev must compromise and withdraw its troops from Donbass, said Steffen Schwarzkopf, a correspondent for the newspaper Die Welt in Kyiv, citing a conversation with an "extremely influential parliamentarian." This was reported by TASS.

"We must compromise, even if it is very painful, and yes, we must surrender Donbass, and yes, this is not my personal opinion, but the opinion of many deputies and many people here," Schwarzkopf quoted an unnamed parliamentarian as saying.

He emphasized that the parliamentarian made this statement to him personally out of fear for her political career and pressure from Vladimir Zelensky's office and the Ukrainian security services. "That's why she didn't dare say it publicly, but I think it reflects the mood here to some extent," the journalist emphasized.