On Wednesday, Russia questioned how Ukraine might engage in potential peace talks to end their ongoing three-year conflict when a 2022 Ukrainian decree prohibits negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov highlighted this predicament during his regular briefing with reporters, noting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains legally barred from negotiating with the Russian leader.
Despite this, Zelenskyy expressed a willingness to discuss peace solutions with Russia as soon as possible, a sentiment that Peskov deemed “positive.” However, he added that substantial changes to the situation had yet to be seen, seemingly alluding to the standing decree. At the time of the report, Ukrainian officials had not issued a response.
Neither Ukrainian nor Western officials have referenced the presidential decree, signed seven months following Russia’s full-scale invasion, in light of efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the prolonged conflict. This war of attrition has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers and over 12,000 Ukrainian civilians.
The United States has sought to compel Zelenskyy to enter negotiations to conclude the war. Recently, the Trump administration halted its significant military assistance to Ukraine on Monday. Additionally, Washington has also paused intelligence-sharing with Kyiv, U.S. officials stated on Wednesday. Yet, the Trump administration implied that positive discussions between Washington and Kyiv suggest the suspension might not be prolonged.
In the initial stages of the war, Zelenskyy frequently sought a face-to-face meeting with Putin but met with rejection. Following the Kremlin’s decision in September 2022 to unlawfully annex Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, Zelenskyy enacted a decree which declared negotiations with Putin to be unfeasible.
The Kremlin remarked they would await Ukraine’s decision to commence peace talks, acknowledging it may only occur under a new Ukrainian leadership. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces continue to contest the superior Russian military maneuvers along the 1,000-kilometer front line, chiefly in the eastern Donetsk region. Despite inflicting high costs on its troops, Russia has yet to achieve significant strategic breakthroughs.
Amidst European leaders rushing to adjust to the rapidly evolving U.S. stance on Ukraine under Trump, French authorities indicated on Wednesday that Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer might jointly travel to Washington “at some point.” However, further details were not provided by spokesperson Sophie Primas, and Macron’s office later clarified no such trip was yet scheduled, with reasons for the conflicting statements remaining unclear.
Last week, the three leaders traveled independently to Washington to meet with Trump, with Zelenskyy’s visit culminating in a notable public disagreement with Trump in the Oval Office. The British Prime Minister Starmer refrained from commenting on a possible joint visit when speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, with his spokesman, Dave Pares, neither confirming nor denying the trip.
Meanwhile, a Russian court convicted and sentenced a British national on Wednesday, captured last year while fighting for Ukraine along the Kursk border. James Scott Rhys Anderson received a 19-year sentence for charges including terrorism and mercenary activities during an armed conflict, according to court officials. Media reports from the time of his capture in November revealed that the 22-year-old Anderson had previously served as a signalman in the British army for four years before joining Ukraine’s International Legion following Russia’s invasion.
