The Kremlin Has Laid Out New Conditions For Peace

• 15.02.2026, 20:27

Moscow is not limited to the issue of territories.

The aggressor country Russia will not limit itself to territorial demands in possible negotiations on ending the war with Ukraine. This is said in a new report by the American Institute for the Study of War.

The analysts drew attention to a statement by the deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma's Defense Committee, Alexei Zhuravlev, who often voices the Kremlin's real diplomatic and military intentions. On February 14, he said that Russia "will not limit itself" to Ukraine's surrender of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions, and also emphasized its desire to change the regime in Kiev by removing the allegedly "Russophobic" and neo-Nazi government.

Analysts note that Moscow may demand not only international recognition of the occupied territories, but also set broader political and security conditions. Possible demands include limiting Ukraine's defense capabilities, changing Kiev's foreign policy, and revising the European security architecture.

"Senior Kremlin officials have also recently said that postwar Ukraine should be 'friendly' to Russia, implying that Russia would only be satisfied with a Ukraine led by a pro-Russian government that pursues pro-Russian policies," the report said.

The ISW notes that the Kremlin has repeatedly rejected serious Western guarantees of a free and secure Ukraine.