The Kremlin does not want the war to end by 2026 — WP
The European Intelligence Service received the document with Russia’s harsh demands in the peace negotiations. According to the document, Russia does not intend to end the war this year.
The Washington Post reported it.
What indicates that Russia does not want to end the war
The document, which was written in February by an "influential Moscow analytical center" close to the FSB, lays out Russia’s maximalist demands for any end to the conflict in Ukraine.
In particular, it rejects the previous plans of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, for a peace agreement within 100 days and states that "a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis cannot take place before 2026".
The document also rejects any plan to send peacekeepers to Ukraine, as some in Europe have suggested.
It refers to insisting on the recognition of Russia’s sovereignty over the Ukrainian territories it has seized. In addition, it calls for further division by creating a buffer zone in northeastern Ukraine on the border with Russian regions (Bryansk and Belgorod), as well as a demilitarised zone in southern Ukraine near Crimea, which Russia illegally seized in 2014. The latter will also affect the Odesa region.
In addition, the document calls for the "complete dismantling" of the current Ukrainian government.
Summing up, WP writes that the document highlights the difficulties Trump still faces in reaching any peace deal with Russia — particularly now that Kyiv has endorsed Washington’s proposal for a 30-day full ceasefire, which is supposed to bridge the gap between the two countries.
Although Russia has not yet made it clear that it will sign up to any ceasefire, analysts warn that Moscow still has many ways to delay the agreement, even for a temporary pause in the fighting, and say that the road to any long-term peace deal is still dangerous.
As a reminder, on Tuesday, the United States and Ukraine held talks in Saudi Arabia to end the war in Ukraine. In particular, the parties agreed on a 30-day ceasefire, which means a complete ceasefire with the possibility of extension if the same proposal is accepted by Russia. Yesterday, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that if this period expires, our country, together with its partners, plans to "put on paper" specific security obligations.
We also wrote that after these talks in Jeddah, the United States fully resumed the supply of military aid to Ukraine. It should be noted that this is not new aid but the aid that was approved by the Joe Biden administration.