Putin’s remarks suggest Russia has no intention of making territorial concessions, ISW says
Pravda Ukraine
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has reported that remarks by Russian ruler Vladimir Putin and Kremlin officials signal that Russia retains “maximalist territorial ambitions and is unwilling to offer territorial concessions”.
Source: ISW
Details: Analysts observe that Putin and Russian officials persist in rejecting the negotiation terms put forward by the United States and insist that Ukraine cede territories Russia has failed to occupy.
In an address to the board of the Federal Security Service (FSB) on 27 February, Putin said that Russia would continue to intensify FSB operations in Donbas and the so-called “Novorossiya”.
On 27 February, Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, similarly claimed that Donbas and Novorossiya were an “integral” part of Russia.
The ISW points out that Putin and other Russian officials have previously described “Novorossiya” as encompassing all of eastern and southern Ukraine, including Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa and Mykolaiv regions. However, the exact boundaries of this concept remain a point of contention even among Russian ultranationalists.
Putin has previously demanded that Ukraine cede Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts despite Russian forces failing to occupy substantial portions of them.
Putin and other Russian officials have consistently signalled that their ambitions extend beyond the administrative borders of the four illegally occupied regions, aiming for further territorial conquest.
Quote from ISW: “Renewed official Russian statements that the invented region of “Novorossiya” is part of Russia indicate that Putin maintains his maximalist territorial ambitions and is unwilling to offer territorial concessions.”
Details: The ISW stressed that Russian troops had seized a small portion of Kharkiv Oblast and the Kinburn Spit in Mykolaiv Oblast and were attempting to push towards the border with Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The Kremlin could exploit its limited occupation of these areas as a false justification to pressure Ukraine into ceding more territory.
Quote from the ISW: “ISW continues to assess that Putin remains uninterested in good-faith negotiations that require compromises and thinks that he can achieve his war objectives militarily in the medium- to long-term.”
Details: Analysts noted that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on 26 February that if Russia is making maximalist demands that it knows cannot be met, the United States will recognise that Putin is not “serious” about pursuing negotiations.
US President Donald Trump reiterated on 26 February that Russia would have to make concessions in peace talks and repeated on 27 February that the United States would “certainly try to get as much [land] as [it] can back [for Ukraine]”.
Quote from ISW: “Kremlin guidelines to Russian state media about coverage of recent US–Russian meetings indicate Russian President Vladimir Putin’s determination to manipulate US President Donald Trump and divide the West.” [NB: Ukrainska Pravda does not recognise Vladimir Putin as a president – ed.]
To quote the ISW’s Key Takeaways on 27 February:
- Russian leader Vladimir Putin and senior Russian officials continue to reject US negotiating terms and demand that Ukraine surrender territory that Russia does not occupy.
- Kremlin guidelines to Russian state media about coverage of recent US-Russian meetings indicate Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s determination to manipulate US President Donald Trump and divide the West.
- US and Russian delegations met in Istanbul, Türkiye, on 27 February to continue to discuss US-Russian bilateral diplomatic relations.
- The Kremlin is reportedly continuing to push the United States to accept economic benefits that are unrelated to the war in Ukraine in return for Ukrainian and Western concessions that are related to the war.
- North Korea reportedly recently deployed additional troops to Kursk Oblast as North Korea continues to expand its military capabilities through cooperation with Russia.
- Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Toretsk and Pokrovsk and Russian forces recently advanced near Pokrovsk, Kurakhove and Velyka Novosilka.
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