Zelenskyy’s office exposes real agenda behind Putin’s peace proposals
Photo: Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President, Mykhailo Podolyak (president.gov.ua)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is once again making absurd demands, mentioning Moldova and Georgia, even though these countries are not involved in the armed conflict, states Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the head of the Office of the President, in a comment to the YouTube channel of RBC-Ukraine.
In his opinion, such statements by Putin are a sign of the Russian leadership’s "inadequacy."
He also emphasized that no insider reports or alleged leaks about negotiations have any real basis. Such false information is a tactic used by the Kremlin to test the West’s reaction and to soften its stance toward Russia.
"They want to use this false information to say: ‘Look, we’re ready for certain compromises, so you should be less radical.’ And once again, this is a completely obvious and rather primitive tactic that Russia constantly uses," Podolyak said.
He believes that for Moscow, continuing the war is less costly than ending it. That is why, according to him, Russia is interested in prolonging the conflict — from political, financial, and reputational perspectives.
"Their main goal is to demoralize our partners, so that they’re no longer willing to take radical actions, whether sanctions or military steps. So that Trump returns to soft diplomacy toward Russia and personally toward Putin, and so on. That’s why they make such false information," Podolyak explained.
He also drew attention to the recurring narratives voiced by Russian officials like Lavrov, Peskov, and Putin himself. According to Podolyak, the Kremlin consistently promotes ideas aimed at depriving Ukraine of its territory, sovereignty, agency, and the right to its own foreign policy.
Among Russia’s key objectives, the advisor named the complete destruction of Ukraine’s military potential, a ban on joining any alliances, refusal of Western weapons, and even the shutdown of Ukraine’s own arms production.
"The main goal is for Russia to be able to come into your home at any moment, kill everyone, deport people, or for Ukrainians to gradually just disappear without a trace," Podolyak concluded.
What preceded this
Today, Reuters reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin has put forward conditions for ending the war in Ukraine, including written guarantees on NATO’s non-expansion and the lifting of some sanctions.
Russia's memorandum on a ceasefire
Following negotiations in Istanbul on May 16 and a conversation with US President Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin announced that Russia is preparing a memorandum containing proposals for a future peace agreement, including possible timelines for ending the war.
Today, it became known that the Russian Federation has proposed holding a second round of ceasefire talks with Ukraine on Monday, June 2, in Istanbul.
