Putin rejects negotiations, demands Ukraine's complete capitulation
Specialists from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) point out that Vladimir Putin rejects any possibilities for negotiations and now openly demands Ukraine's actual capitulation. He claims that all Ukrainian governing institutions are illegal.
Many of the reports provided by Russian media or government representatives are propaganda. They are part of the Russian Federation's information war.
At a press conference in Astana, Putin firmly rejected Russia's involvement in any significant negotiations regarding a ceasefire agreement, demanding instead the "irreversible demilitarisation" of Ukraine as a precondition for a ceasefire.
Analysts note that in this way, Putin is demanding Ukraine's actual capitulation in exchange for a ceasefire.
Putin has called all Ukrainian authorities unsuitable for negotiations and rejected involving third parties in talks. Instead, he emphasised his demand directed at Ukraine for a ceasefire.
Putin's announcement
Putin argued that Russia could not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine because it did not know how Kyiv would react in this situation and what measures it would take. According to the Russian leader, Ukrainians could use the truce to rebuild their army, so appropriate agreements stipulating "irreversible" actions are required.
Moreover, Putin presented the demand for Ukraine's "demilitarisation" as the primary condition for a ceasefire agreement. The ISW assesses that Russia's goal is to rebuild and extend its forces to destroy the Ukrainian state.
Putin also revealed that Russia has started research and development work on new medium-range missiles and is ready to begin their production; however, it will not deploy them in Europe unless the United States does. According to the Russian leader, Moscow will only take "mirror" actions in response to Washington's actions and not act first.
It is worth recalling that the last negotiations between the two teams took place in Istanbul in 2022. The conclusions were called the "Istanbul agreement", although the arrangements never came into effect.
