Russia seeks international recognition for its claim on the Ukrainian territories annexed and occupied by its forces as part of any future peace deal, according to its foreign minister in an official Wednesday, September 3 statement
In contrast, Ukraine declares it will never accept Russian control over any of its territory and has vowed to recover land seized by Moscow.
Russia claims to have annexed five Ukrainian regions—Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, as well as the Crimean peninsula, which it seized in 2014. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov asserted
In order for a durable peace, the new territorial realities that arose… must be recognised and formalised in accordance with international law.
Control of land captured by Russia in its offensive is a key sticking point in stalled peace talks between the two states. Ukraine wants a ceasefire first before discussing territory, but Russia has refused to halt its offensive until a full deal is reached.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga replied that Russia was responding to peace efforts led by U.S. president Donald Trump with “old ultimatums.”
“Russia has not changed its aggressive goals and shows no signs of readiness for meaningful negotiations,” he said, adding: “It’s time to hit the Russian war machine with severe new sanctions and sober Moscow up.”
Turkey, which has hosted three rounds of direct Russia-Ukraine talks, said last week that Russian President Vladimir Putin had offered to freeze the front lines in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions if Ukraine completely gave up the Donetsk region.
Russia already has almost total control over the Lugansk region and controls around 80% of Donetsk, AFP analysis of Institute for the Study of War data shows.
It has also captured large swathes of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, though Ukraine still controls the regional capitals.
