ISW explains Russia's refusal to freeze Ukraine war

The Russian Federation is demonstrating its readiness to escalate the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin declares its unwillingness to "freeze" the front line or compromise. 

This was stated by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on Wednesday, November 27.

Russia does not want to freeze the war

The director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, said that the Kremlin was supposedly ready for negotiations, but categorically rejected any "freezing" of the front line or the creation of demilitarized zones.

According to Naryshkin, the only way to achieve peace is to "eliminate" the reasons that "forced" Russia to launch a full-scale invasion.

"Such rhetoric shows that Moscow continues to insist on Ukraine's uncompromising surrender. The Kremlin has also repeatedly demanded control over all the territories of the four illegally annexed regions, including those currently under Ukrainian control," stated the Institute's analysts.

A new Russian offensive

According to ISW's analytical forecasts, the Russian command may be planning a new offensive in the southeastern part of the Dnipro region. This region is not part of the illegally annexed territories, but its capture could support Russia's long-standing goal of full occupation of the Donetsk region.

The ISW also suggests that the Russian military command is likely planning to advance to the extreme southeastern part of Dnipropetrovs'k region to capture the entire Donetsk region.

Earlier, we reported that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin could start negotiations as early as early 2025. This is due to the fact that the Soviet-era weapons will run out by the end of this year.

As a reminder, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had set a goal to push the Ukrainian Armed Forces out of the Kursk region of Russia by January 20, 2025, when Trump's inauguration is to take place.