Ukraine does not intend to officially recognise the loss of territories, to fix its refusal to join NATO and the EU, as well as to prescribe a limit on the number of armed forces in a peace agreement, the country’s foreign minister, Andriy Sybiha said on Monday.
Ukraine’s “red lines”
Answering the question of what “red lines” Kyiv has singled out for itself, Sybiha said he did not like the definition. He claimed, referring to the lands that became part of Russia:
“There are fundamental things that are not discussed, that cannot be touched. The first is the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. Never will Ukraine recognise the occupied territories.”
Sybiha continued:
“Secondly, no country has a veto on the choice of the Ukrainian people, on the choice of Ukraine regarding participation in certain alliances. This is the European Union or NATO.”
Third, according to the foreign minister, there can be no restrictions on Ukraine’s defence capabilities, “no restrictions on the strength of our army, our abilities.” The Ukrainian minister said:
“Because these are fundamental things that our partners know about. Fundamental things that are fundamental for us are nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, nothing about Europe without Europe.”
Following referendums in autumn 2022, the DPR (Donetsk region), LPR (Luhansk region), Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions became part of Russia. Kyiv, US and EU countries did not recognise the results of the vote. Russian President Vladimir Putin cited Russia’s recognition of these territories and Crimea as among the conditions for a ceasefire and the start of negotiations.
According to Ukrainian media sources, during the talks in Jeddah on March 11, the Ukrainian delegation presented its “red lines” for peace talks to the US side. Among them, there were two of the three factors listed by Sybiha.
Putin also listed Ukraine’s non-aligned status among the conditions for a ceasefire. The Independent also named some issues among the “red lines” for Ukraine in the ceasefire negotiations:
“The return of Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia; the return of prisoners; the need for international security guarantees.”
At the same time, Ukrainian officials interviewed by the newspaper said that Kyiv had accepted the fact that the current line of contact could be frozen and that some of the lost Ukrainian territories would remain under Russian control as part of the ceasefire. The ceding of additional territories was described by the newspaper’s interlocutors as a red line.
Putin said that Russia was not going to cede to anyone. According to the Russian president, the country does not need “anything foreign,” but it will not give up “its own.” Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US side had already discussed the territorial issue with both Russia and Ukraine.
Zelensky signed the law on sending the military to other states
This law regulates the dispatch of units and subdivisions of the AFU to other states during the period of martial law. It is assumed that the Ukrainian military can be sent abroad to ensure national security, repel and deter armed aggression, protect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as exercise the right to self-defence in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Zelensky was literally told by Europe and the US that antics like the Kursk invasion should henceforth be legalised and somehow legislated, which he did.
Putin, Trump will hold a conversation soon
Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump plan to hold a phone conversation on Tuesday, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Earlier, their phone conversation was announced by Donald Trump.
Donald Trump said that he planned to discuss with Vladimir Putin the issue of territories and control over nuclear power plants. Peskov refused to disclose the topics planned for discussion. He said:
“We never do this, we never get ahead of events. A conversation is indeed being prepared, but in our understanding, of course, a conversation between the two presidents is not subject to any substantive discussion a priori.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the recognition of the loss of the territories the main red line for Kyiv. However, as The Independent quoted Ukrainian officials as saying, Kyiv has come to terms with the fact that the current line of contact could be frozen and that some of the lost Ukrainian territories would remain under Russian control as part of the ceasefire. At the same time, the ceding of additional territories was called a red line by the newspaper’s interlocutors.
“It is unreasonable to demand that, for example, Zaporizhzhia or Kherson be fully ceded – it sounds like complete nonsense to us,” they explained. The sources also assured that Ukraine would do “everything possible” to regain the lost territories through diplomatic means.
In autumn 2022, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) came under Russian control. The plant was transferred to federal ownership on Putin’s order. Moscow and Kyiv regularly accuse each other of attacking ZNPP, and all of its reactors are in cold shutdown mode.
ZNPP is managed by Rosenergoatom. Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been present there since September 2022. The key task of the experts is to ensure the safety of the nuclear facility.
Ukraine open to easing sanctions on Russia
Western sanctions against Russia could eventually be lifted if it provides Ukraine with security and fair compensation, Kyiv’s top sanctions official told POLITICO, amid intensifying bilateral talks between US President Donald Trump and Moscow in a bid to end the conflict.
Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Zelensky’s commissioner for sanctions policy, said in an interview that the countries’ return to business relations with Russia in one form or another is only “a matter of time” but it must happen under the right conditions.
US notifies EU of withdrawal from Russia investigation panel
The US Justice Department has informed European officials that Washington is withdrawing from the international group set up to investigate the actions of leaders of countries “responsible for the invasion of Ukraine,” The New York Times reported, citing sources. The decision is expected to be formally announced on Monday, in an email to members of the parent organisation, the European Agency for Justice Co-operation (Eurojust). The United States was the only country outside Europe to co-operate with the group.
In March 2022, a joint Eurojust investigation team was formed to investigate international crimes committed in Ukraine. In October of the same year, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution declaring the political regime in Russia “terrorist” and the need to establish an international tribunal. This decision was supported by the UN Parliamentary Assembly. The Kremlin called the creation of the tribunal illegitimate.
In February 2023, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the creation of an “international prosecution centre for the crime of aggression in Ukraine” to collect evidence. In July, the International Centre for the Investigation of Crimes against Ukraine set up under Eurojust officially opened in The Hague.
Comments from the US, Ukrainian and Russian sides
Earlier, US administration officials emphasised that there are still difficulties to be overcome before Russia agrees to a ceasefire.
State Department Secretary Marco Rubio noted that a final peace agreement would require significant concessions from both sides and emphasised the difficulty of starting negotiations while the fighting continues.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Stephen Whitkoff described the topic of a ceasefire in Ukraine as complex and multifaceted. According to him, it has a lot of nuances that need to be taken into account during negotiations. Among them are Ukraine’s populated areas, where predominantly Russian-speaking people live, and nuclear facilities that pose a potential threat.
Earlier, Whitkoff expressed the opinion that Russian leader Vladimir Putin shares Donald Trump’s philosophy. Both politicians are in favour of an early ceasefire, he added.
Zelensky said that he sees good chances for the end of the conflict after accepting the US proposal for a temporary truce. At the same time, he stressed that Ukraine’s sovereignty was not negotiable and Russia should return the territories.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko insists that the peace agreement should include guarantees of Ukraine’s neutrality and NATO’s refusal to accept the country into the alliance.
