Russia has issued a list of demands for Ukraine to follow if its brutal invasion is to come to an end.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov gave Moscow’s most explicit statement so far of the terms it wants to impose on Ukraine to halt what it calls its “special military operation”, which is now in its 12th day.
Pesko said Ukraine must:
▪︎Cease military action.
▪︎ Change its constitution to enshrine neutrality.
▪︎ Acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory.
▪︎ Recognise the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent territories.
The outlining of Russia’s demands came as delegations from Russia and Ukraine prepared to meet on Monday for a third round of talks.
Peskov said that, if the conditions are met, Russia’s military action will halt “in a moment”.
He added: “They should make amendments to the constitution according to which Ukraine would reject any aims to enter any bloc. This is possible only by making changes to the constitution.”
He also insisted Russia was not seeking to make any further territorial claims on Ukraine.
“We really are finishing the demilitarisation of Ukraine. We will finish it. But the main thing is that Ukraine ceases its military action. They should stop their military action and then no one will shoot,” he said.
“We have also spoken about how they should recognize that Crimea is Russian territory and that they need to recognize that Donetsk and Lugansk are independent states. And that’s it. It will stop in a moment.”
It is not yet clear how receptive the Ukrainian government will be to the demands.
By changing its constitution to enshrine neutrality, Ukraine would be unable to join Nato – a key move the Kremlin is keen to ensure.
Ukraine has been keen to join the EU, with leaders from the bloc meeting this week to discuss Zelenskyy’s bid to join this week.
The chairman of EU summits Charles Michel tweeted on Monday: “The EU’s solidarity, friendship and unprecedented assistance for Ukraine are unwavering. We will discuss Ukraine’s membership application in coming days.”
Vladimir Putin reportedly thought his invasion would take a matter of days, but was met with a strong resistance from Ukrainian Armed Forces and civilians.
On Wednesday, Russia admitted for the first time admitted it had suffered heavy losses, saying in a statement 498 of its troops had died. The UK has the death toll will be “considerably higher” than figures released by the Kremlin.
The United Nations has opposed any Russian claim to Donetsk and Lugansk and it has also condemned the annexation of Crime by Moscow in 2014.
Russia has increasingly been seen by the international community as a “global pariah” following the invasion on 24 February.
An emergency UN general assembly voted overwhelmingly for a resolution deploring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called for the immediate withdrawal of its forces, with longstanding allies Cuba and Venezuela joining China in abstaining.
The only countries to vote no in support of Moscow were Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria.
Putin’s invasion has triggered the worst refugee crisis since World War Two, displacing around 1.5 million people.
Ukrainian cities have come under almost constant bombardments, with Ukrainian officials estimating that over 2,000 civilians – including children – have been killed in the violence.
Russia agreed to a ceasefire over the weekend so people could be evacuated from their homes.
Attempts at an evacuation in Mariupol were stopped on Sunday after men, women, and children were targeted with shells as they tried to flee.
International attention has focused on Irpin, a Kyiv suburb where residents have been scrambling across a river to flee Russian bombardment.
Eight people were killed – including two children from the same family – Ukrainian authorities said, after Russian shells hit a damaged bridge they were attempting to cross.