Russia rejects compromise on occupied Ukraine regions
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Ukraine’s president said that, following talks in Berlin, the US delegation is expected to move on to discussions with Russia, though there is uncertainty over whether Washington’s envoys can persuade Moscow to halt its war and accept the proposed draft plan.
Russia has made clear it will not agree to any “compromise” on Ukrainian territory. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday that Moscow has not softened its position and continues to demand control over five Ukrainian regions: Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
While Crimea was annexed in 2014 and most of the Luhansk region is under Russian occupation, Moscow does not fully control any of the other three regions it claims. In both Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, Russian forces do not even hold the regional capitals.
As European leaders reiterated their commitment to protect Ukraine in the future, including through military support, the Kremlin has also stepped up its own demands, calling for security guarantees for Russia.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would not accept a scenario in which “Kyiv signs peace agreements and then begins to sabotage them”. Ukraine, however, has never committed any act of aggression against Russia.
