Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that Ukraine must surrender territory currently under its control for any potential peace agreement to become viable, while simultaneously dismissing allegations of bias towards Moscow by US special envoy Steve Witkoff as "nonsense".
Uncompromising Stance on Ukrainian Territory
During a working visit to Kyrgyzstan, Putin delivered remarks that underscored Russia's hardened position in the ongoing conflict. The Russian leader stated that military operations would only cease if Ukrainian forces withdraw from unspecified occupied regions, bluntly warning that "if they don't, we will achieve our aims militarily".
Putin did acknowledge that a draft peace plan discussed between Washington and Kyiv could serve as a foundation for future negotiations. "In general, we agree that this can be the basis for future agreements," he commented, noting that Moscow had received details of the version discussed in Geneva.
Diplomatic Complications and Legitimacy Questions
The Russian president further complicated potential negotiations by repeating his controversial claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government is "illegitimate". This assertion creates significant legal hurdles for any binding agreement, with Putin insisting that any future settlement would require broader international recognition beyond Kyiv's current leadership.
Analysts observe that Russia's current negotiating strategy follows a familiar pattern seen since Trump's re-election, where the Kremlin expresses openness to peace discussions while maintaining maximalist demands that Kyiv views as unacceptable surrender terms.
Controversial US Envoy and Leaked Communications
Putin confirmed that Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy facing scrutiny over his approach to Russia, will travel to Moscow early next week. Witkoff, a longtime Trump business associate and property developer, has attracted criticism in both Europe and the United States following a leaked phone call that revealed him advising a senior Kremlin aide on how Putin should handle negotiations with the Trump administration.
Independent Russian political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya noted on social media platform X that she sees "nothing at the moment that would force Putin to recalculate his goals or abandon his core demands". She added that Putin feels "more confident than ever about the battlefield situation" and believes he can wait until Kyiv accepts it cannot win and must negotiate on Moscow's terms.
The original 28-point peace plan developed by US and Russian officials, which was leaked last week, contains several provisions that would require Ukraine to voluntarily cede territory that Moscow has failed to capture through military means. Additional terms would potentially reduce or halt American military assistance to Ukraine and explicitly ban any future deployment of western troops to the country.
