Russia demanded Ukraine’s complete capitulation and territorial concessions extending beyond Donbas during the talks in Abu Dhabi. This is stated in an analysis by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) of the discussions held on November 10 and 11.
“Senior Kremlin officials clearly and unequivocally expressed Moscow’s persistent demands for Ukraine’s complete capitulation and territorial concessions reaching far beyond Donbas,” the analysis states.
Moscow rejects a territorial exchange
The Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi was led by presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky. On November 11, he stated that Russia would seize “every inch of its land” in Ukrainian territory. Medinsky added that “wherever a Russian soldier has set foot, that belongs to Russia.”
According to the ISW, Moscow does not accept any territorial exchange and intends to expand its “security zone” in Ukraine. The analysts suggest that this refers to areas in the northern parts of Sumy and Kharkiv regions, which Russian authorities describe as part of a buffer zone.
According to the institute, these statements show that the Kremlin’s territorial claims extend beyond Crimea and the four regions that Russia illegally declared annexed – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
Demilitarization and renunciation of NATO are among the demands
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow would follow the course outlined by Vladimir Putin in his speech in June 2024. At the time, the Russian leadership demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the entire territory of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, including areas that the Russian army had never controlled.
The package also includes the demilitarization and “denazification” of Ukraine, which the ISW interprets as replacing the current Ukrainian government with a pro-Russian one, as well as abandoning Kyiv’s aspirations for NATO membership. The analysts recall that Russian representatives often describe the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the entire Donetsk region as a necessary but insufficient condition for a peace agreement.
Dispute over the front line
During the talks, Russian representatives presented a version of the front line that the ISW describes as fabricated. It included settlements that, according to the analysis, remain under the control of Ukrainian forces.
The talks in Abu Dhabi followed discussions between representatives of the United States, Russia and Ukraine. Afterward, U.S. President’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow for meetings with the Russian leadership. At the same time, NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe General John Stringer said that the decision on the fate of Ukrainian territories must be made solely by Ukraine.
Sources: unian.net