Putin is ‘not serious’ about negotiations and seeks to prolong war - ISW
Photo: Russian dictator Vladimir Putin (GettyImages)
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and his top officials continue to reject the terms of negotiations proposed by the United States. The Russians are demanding that Ukraine surrender territories that have not yet been occupied, the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports.
In particular, ISW noted that in his address to the Federal Security Service (FSB) board on February 27, Putin stated that Russia would continue to strengthen FSB operations in Donbas and the so-called "Novorossiya."
The Kremlin's Spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, continues to speak about "Novorossiya" as well. The day before, he stated that Donbas and "Novorossiya" are an "integral" part of Russia.
The ISW review notes that Putin and other Russian officials have previously defined "Novorossiya" as all of eastern and southern Ukraine (including the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and Mykolaiv regions), though its exact borders remain disputed among Russian ultranationalists. Putin himself has previously demanded that Ukraine surrender the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions, even though Russian forces do not fully control large parts of Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
"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," ISW notes.
The Kremlin may use Russia’s occupation of limited territory in these regions as a false premise to demand that Ukraine surrender even more land. According to ISW, Putin remains uninterested in good-faith negotiations that would require compromises and believes he can achieve his military objectives militarily in the medium- to long term.
Russia's position on war against Ukraine
In January, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin invented a new excuse to avoid negotiations with Ukraine. He cited an alleged ban by official Kyiv on engaging in talks with the aggressor. More recently, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the Russian army would not cease combat operations during peace negotiations.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, in 2025, Russia plans to produce approximately 3,000 long-range missiles and more than 7 million artillery shells and mines.
