Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation to the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, said on Wednesday that he had sent proposals to Ukraine. These would include a date and location for the exchange of conditions to stop the fighting in Ukraine.
The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, later added that the talks should take place on Monday, in Istanbul. Ukrainian and Russian delegates recently negotiated there for the first time. At that time it was announced that follow-up talks would take place. The countries also agreed on a major prisoner exchange.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, spoke with the Russian delegation about the peace talks on Wednesday. The conversation would have taken place via telephone, news agency Reuters reported.
Ukraine says it is ready for new direct talks with Russia, but first wants to see the terms for a ceasefire that the Kremlin has drawn up. During the previous talks, both countries agreed to come up with conditions. Ukraine says it has already submitted these to the Russians. Russia is said to have its version ready, but has not yet handed it over. Umerov calls on the Russians to do so anyway.
We already seem to know something about the Russian conditions. Three Russian sources told Reuters that Russian President Vladimir Putin is demanding that NATO not expand further east when a peace deal comes. Putin would also be pushing for a neutral status for Ukraine, the lifting of certain Western sanctions, protection for Russian-speaking Ukrainians and a settlement for frozen Russian assets in the West.
Germany will help Ukraine produce long-range weapons itself. Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced this on Wednesday at a press conference with Zelensky. Zelensky is on his first visit to Berlin since Merz became Chancellor.
According to Merz, Germany and Ukraine will sign an agreement on long-range missiles this Wednesday. There are no restrictions on the distance the missiles can travel. “Ukraine can thus fully protect itself, including against military targets outside its own territory,” Merz said. He did not want to disclose details yet.
The chancellor said that it is clear that no one wants peace as much as Ukraine itself. Merz said that Germany, like many other European countries, would like to help with talks about this.
He accused Russia of not yet taking steps towards peace. Merz wants to increase the pressure on the country to force Moscow to negotiate seriously. Germany will “maintain, continue and expand” military support to Ukraine anyway.
Moscow criticizes Germany’s decision and considers it a provocation. “This is a very dangerous trend, an irresponsible attitude that Germany is taking,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Meanwhile, the built-up tension between US President Trump and Putin does not seem to have diminished. Trump said on Wednesday in response to the increased Russian attacks on Ukraine that Putin is “playing with fire.” The American president also said that bad things would have happened to Russia if he had not been there. Earlier this week, Trump said that Putin has gone crazy.
An advisor to Putin said on Russian state television in response to Trump’s latest statements that “Trump is not sufficiently informed about what is really happening in the context of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.”
Kremlin spokesman Peskov said that it is clear that the Trump administration is “making significant efforts to reach a peaceful solution.” He also said that Russia is “personally grateful for President Trump’s mediation efforts.”
Zelensky reported that he expects a major attack on the Ukrainian region of Sumy. According to the Ukrainian president, Russia has gathered 50,000 soldiers at the border. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) previously reported that Russia has moved army units towards the border near Sumy.
Zelensky thinks that Putin wants to create a so-called buffer zone near the border with an offensive. It was already announced last week that Putin had made a decision about such a buffer zone.