The Kremlin has announced its readiness to end the “hot phase” of the war in Ukraine if Ukrainian troops withdraw from the Donetsk region, while also stating that it may add six more Ukrainian cities to its list of demands.
In brief:
- Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia is ready to end the “hot phase” of the war in Ukraine if Ukrainian troops leave Donetsk Oblast.
- Russian lawmaker Alexei Chepa spoke about the possibility of expanding Russia’s territorial claims to the Ukrainian cities of Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro.
- Russia has demanded that Ukraine withdraw from the Donetsk region within twenty days.
- The Ukrainian side has refused to withdraw its troops and asserts that territories occupied by Russia can only be recognized as “temporarily occupied.”
Russia speaks of readiness to end active hostilities
On April 3, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that to end the “hot phase” of the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian troops must leave the territory of the Donetsk region, writes the Russian publication “Gazeta.ru.”
“Russia will continue military operations on Ukrainian territory until it achieves its objectives, but to end the ‘hot phase,’ Ukrainian troops must withdraw from the Donetsk region,” Peskov said.
However, on the eve of April 1, Russian lawmaker Alexei Chepa told Russian media about the terms of a peace treaty the Kremlin is preparing for Kyiv. The politician claims that Russia’s new conditions may include demands that Ukraine withdraw from the territories of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The politician also does not rule out that territorial claims could extend to the Ukrainian cities of Odesa, Mykolaiv, Dnipro, and Kharkiv if Ukraine refuses to withdraw its troops from the Donetsk region within two months.
On March 31, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told journalists from the “24 Kanal” TV channel that Russia had issued an ultimatum to leave the Donetsk region within two months.
“A logical question arises. This is my question to my American colleagues. If their goal is only Donbas, then why are they saying that after seizing Donbas they will go further, and there will be new conditions?”, – noted Zelenskyy.
The Kremlin’s rhetoric is shifting
Despite official references by Russian lawmaker Alexei Chepa to deadlines for Ukraine and statements by the Ukrainian president, Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov issued a statement on April 3 asserting that the Russian side had not set any deadlines.
Instead, the official said that Ukrainian troops should have been withdrawn from the Donetsk region yesterday.
“This would indeed facilitate the transition to a process of resolving the conflict through political and diplomatic means. To achieve this, Zelenskyy must assume political responsibility and make the appropriate decision,” the Kremlin representative stated. At the same time, Chepa emphasized that Russia would continue military operations on Ukrainian territory until it achieved its stated goal.
Ukrainian journalist Viktor Shlinchak claims that Russia uses deadlines as a tool for pressure and intimidation. The journalist recalls how many similar statements have already been made by Russian politicians during the war: “First, it was Kyiv ‘in three days.’ Then—the sacred May 9 for Moscow, under which Putin planned to claim victory. Then Bakhmut, which was presented almost as the key to the entire Donbas. Then Avdiivka, which they also tried to sell as a turning point. Now a new series”.
What demands is Russia making?
The first negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations took place a few days after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On February 28, 2022, the delegations met at the residence of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The next two meetings also took place in Belarus, but it was only during the fourth round, held in Istanbul, that they began discussing a list of specific demands from the Russian side to Ukraine for the cessation of hostilities, writes the Ukrainian publication “TSN.”
Among the demands are:
- reduction of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to 50,000 personnel and demilitarization;
- “denazification” and replacement of the current Ukrainian government, which the Kremlin considers illegitimate;
- surrender of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the Crimean Peninsula. Recognition of the “DPR” and “LPR”;
- Ukraine’s renunciation of NATO membership;
- Kyiv’s renunciation of the right to purchase, manufacture, and store missile weapons with a range exceeding 250 km;
- granting Russian the status of an official language and restoring the property rights of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate;
- lifting the ban on Soviet symbols;
Throughout the military operations on Ukrainian territory, the Russian authorities have not abandoned their demands but have only expanded their territorial ambitions. While in 2022 the focus was solely on the Crimean Peninsula and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, by 2026 Russian officials openly state that the list of demands could include the Ukrainian cities of Odesa, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. The total area of these regions accounts for over 42% of Ukraine’s total territory (including the Crimean Peninsula).
Meanwhile, the Institute for the Study of War believes that the Kremlin’s claims that Russian troops are on the verge of breaking through and capturing fortified cities in the Donetsk region—or any other region of Ukraine, for that matter—are mere bluster. “The data we track at the Institute for the Study of War confirms this. And the military leaders we spoke with during a recent trip to Ukraine were increasingly confident that they would be able to continue holding back the Russians as long as Western aid continues to arrive,”, – states the ISW report.
Ukraine’s Position:
Throughout the lengthy negotiation process that has been ongoing since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian side has repeatedly stated that the withdrawal of troops and the recognition of the occupied territories as Russian are not part of its plan.
On April 3, Fedir Venislavskyi, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence, spoke in an interview with journalists from Channel 24 about the pessimistic outlook regarding a swift end to the war.
“Our side is not ready to recognize Ukrainian territories as Russian or to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Donbas. For us, this is unacceptable; these are ‘red lines.’ The territories are recognized under international law as temporarily occupied, and there can be no other options,” – says the MP.
As a reminder:
- Ukrainian-Russian peace talks are currently being held in a trilateral format with the participation of representatives from the Kremlin, Kyiv, and Washington. The last meeting of the delegations took place on February 17, 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland.
- On Saturday, March 21, 2026, the Ukrainian delegation visited Miami, where it met with U.S. representatives to hold alternative talks and discuss possibilities for a trilateral meeting.
- On April 3, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he had invited the U.S. negotiating delegation to Kyiv for a meeting as an alternative to a trilateral meeting involving Russia, which cannot yet be held due to the war in the Middle East.
Yulia Derdyuk
Official Russian and Belarusian sources cited in this text are for informational purposes only. Content from these sources may constitute disinformation or propaganda.
