An analytical center close to the 5th service of the FSB prepared a plan for the Kremlin with «maximalist» demands for ending the war in Ukraine, writes Washington Post. The document came into the possession of the intelligence of a European country.
The document prepared for the Kremlin outlines a tough position in negotiations. Russia should aim to weaken the US negotiating position on Ukraine by increasing tensions between the Trump administration and other countries while simultaneously advancing Moscow's efforts to dismantle the Ukrainian state, the document states.
President Donald Trump's plans to conclude a peace agreement within 100 days are rejected as «unrealizable», noting that «a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis cannot occur before 2026».
The document also rejects any plans to send peacekeepers to Ukraine, as proposed by some European countries, and insists on recognizing Russia's sovereignty over the captured Ukrainian territories. It proposes further division of the country by creating a buffer zone in northeastern Ukraine on the border with the Bryansk and Belgorod regions, as well as creating a demilitarized zone in southern Ukraine near Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.
As analysts note, Moscow has many ways to delay agreement even on a temporary pause in military actions. Thomas Graham, senior director for Russia at the National Security Council under George W. Bush, believes that Russia is «not interested in a quick resolution of the Ukrainian crisis», pointing to «root causes» related to internal politics in Ukraine. «A simple ceasefire that does not take this into account is of no interest to Russia. And Trump seems not to understand this», Graham believes.
The document also outlines ways in which Russia can strengthen its position in negotiations by escalating tensions in relations between the US and China and the European Union, as well as offering the US access to Russian minerals, including in the occupied territories of Ukraine, such as the eastern Donbas region.
Among the negotiation proposals is Russia's agreement not to deploy its medium-range ballistic missiles «Oreshnik» in Belarus, on the border with the European Union. In return, the United States should agree not to deploy new missile systems in Europe. The document also proposes that Russia cease arms supplies to countries considered «unfriendly» towards the US, and the United States, in return, would stop arming Ukraine, noting that stopping the supply of Russian weapons to Moscow's allies would be «difficult to implement».
The presence of any peacekeeping contingent in Ukraine is also rejected as «absolutely unnecessary», as any forces would be under «serious Western influence», and US plans to continue arming Ukraine after a peace agreement are «absolutely unacceptable», as is maintaining the Ukrainian army at its current strength of 1 million people.
Photo: Reuters