On Monday, Russia made its conditions for ending the war in Ukraine public by demanding that Kyiv recognise the statehood of Donetsk and Luhansk, accept Crimea as Russian territory, and adopt a neutral status. Kremlin officials assured that if the conditions are met then Moscow will swiftly end its military assault on Ukraine. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky refused to give in to Russia’s demands and instead called for more diplomatic dialogue.
In an interview with Reuters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov elaborated upon Moscow’s three key demands. Firstly, Ukraine should make constitutional amendments that reject its accession to “any bloc” and cement its neutral status, a reference to its bids to join both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union. Secondly, the Ukrainian government should officially recognise the separatist territories of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states. Lastly, Ukraine must acknowledge Crimea, which Russian forces annexed in 2014, as indisputable Russian territory. Peskov emphasised, “Ukraine is an independent state that will live as it wants, but under conditions of neutrality.” He declared that Russia’s military involvement in Ukraine will “stop in a moment” as soon as Kyiv adheres to these demands.
The Kremlin has announced its demands for ending the war in Ukraine:
— Patrick Reevell (@Reevellp) March 7, 2022
-Ukraine must change its constitution to guarantee it won't join any "blocs", i.e. NATO + EU.
-Must recognise Crimea as part of Russia.
-Must recognise the eastern separatist regions as independent.
Additionally, Peskov said that the Ukrainian government has already been made aware of these conditions and that the Kremlin is hoping for a “suitable” response, noting that Russia is close to finishing its military operation. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin had said that Russia’s war in Ukraine was about to end after claiming to have destroyed majority of the country’s military infrastructure.
ONE-ON-ONE WITH PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY: In an @ABC News exclusive, @DavidMuir spoke to Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy who issued an urgent message to the American people, saying "support" our "fight" for freedom. (2/2) https://t.co/kSWWpEcrxz pic.twitter.com/FH2k3ffeRG
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) March 8, 2022
In response, Ukrainian President Zelensky called Russia’s demands “ultimatums,” saying that he is determined to find a solution that is suitable for all parties. During an interview with ABC, he noted that recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk will be “difficult.” He also urged Putin to “start talking instead of living in the information bubble without oxygen,” saying that the Russian leader can definitely stop the war he started. The Ukrainian leader also took the time to urge his American counterpart Joe Biden to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine to curb Russia’s aerial bombardment.
In a parallel development, Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, announced on Monday that his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Sergey Lavrov and Dmytro Kuleba, will meet in Antalya on March 9 for ceasefire talks, marking the first top-level meeting between the two countries who have been at war for 11 days.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin published a list of countries that have committed “unfriendly” actions towards Russia in the form of retaliatory sanctions over their invasion of Ukraine. The list includes Ukraine, the United States (US), Canada, European Union (EU) states, the Unied Kingdom, Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Taiwan. Crucially, state-owned news outlet TASS offered further confirmation of Russia’s strong ties with China by writing that Taiwan is considered to be a territory of China.
The list comes in light of the US bolstering its military presence in Europe by sending an extra 500 troops, thus, bringing its total presence in the EU to 100,000.