Russia demands the US to withdraw the AFU from 4 regions — media

During the talks with the United States in Saudi Arabia, Russia continued to express its maximum demands. In particular, the Kremlin hopes for the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions, despite the fact that it does not fully control any of the regions.

The Moscow Times reports it with reference to sources.

Russia "intends to demand" withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from 4 regions of Ukraine

According to the official close to the Kremlin, Moscow intends to strengthen its control over these regions at all costs. He explains this by saying that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin cannot afford to give them up after their status was enshrined in the Russian Constitution.

"There is no constitutional mechanism for regions to secede. We need all of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Either Trump influences them to leave, or we're told: "Enter into long negotiations and simply use military force to establish control." That's the worst option for us, because river crossings are always painful operations," the official said.

As an alternative, the aggressor country is considering seizing parts of the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions to offer an exchange for Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

At the same time, the official added that from the point of view of military logistics, Russian troops in their current state cannot aspire to anything beyond the area of Sloviansk (Donetsk region) and Dnipropetrovsk (presumably meaning Dnipropetrovsk region).

Israeli military expert David Sharp noted that Russia is not able to capture these areas by military means quickly.

"For Russians, capturing even a couple of villages is seen as a huge success. In order to cross the Dnipro and seize Kherson — or even take the city of Zaporizhzhia without having to cross the river, as Zaporizhzhia lies on both banks — something extraordinary would have to happen," the expert explained.

At the same time, Moscow is also counting on the fact that the Trump Administration does not really care which territories will go to the Kremlin.

"As I understand it, Trump wants a modern, well-armed, pro-Western Ukraine. He can't just give Ukraine up entirely. But where exactly the border is drawn is not that crucial to him," a Moscow Times source said.

As a reminder, talks between the United States and Russia took place yesterday in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. They lasted more than 12 hours and, according to media reports, the joint statement following the meeting will be published today, March 25.

We also wrote that a day earlier, on Sunday, the US and Ukraine held talks in Riyadh. Last night, it became known that the Ukraine's delegation would remain in Saudi Arabia for another day to hold another meeting with the US side.