DISINFO: Ukraine is returning to negotiations having lost territory since 2022
SUMMARY
Russian and Ukrainian delegations met again in Istanbul to maintain their first conversations since 2022, after Kyiv abandoned negotiations that year. Russia’s message is clear and keeps the line it sustained since 2022, while Ukraine now returns to the negotiating table after losing territory and military casualties. The difference between both sides is that the Russian delegations received instructions from their president Vladimir Putin, and the Ukrainian side from all countries in the world.
RESPONSE
This disinformation story is an attempt to promote a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about the inevitability of a Russian victory in Ukraine. It appeared as Russian negotiators in Istanbul demanded that Ukraine surrendered the territory of 4 Ukrainian regions partially occupied by Russia or face further conquest. In this context, pro-Kremlin disinformation tries to portray Russia in a situation of overwhelming superiority regarding Ukraine, something that it is far from true.
Russia-Ukraine negotiations in 2022 in Istanbul took place when Russia was at the peak of its territorial control of Ukraine, with around 25% of the territory under its occupation, compared to around 18.7% of the territory in early May 2025. While a shortage of military manpower remains a real difficulty for Ukraine, this also affects Russia. Since early 2025, massive losses have slowed down Russian advances in the Ukrainian frontlines, making Russia’s war effort unsustainable in the medium term.
Baseless claims about Ukraine “receiving orders from all the world” are aimed to promote another recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine’s alleged lack of sovereignty. While multiple countries from all over the world are helping Ukraine to defend itself against Russia’s aggression, Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically elected president and parliament, and other nations have no determining power over their decisions.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Putin’s proposal shows his greatness by giving the defeated a chance to negotiate, that Ukraine cannot dictate the peace terms because it lost the war, that the Nazi Zelenskyy regime is within months of falling, that UK and France are unable to accept defeat in Ukraine, or that Ukraine and Europe have lost in the Ukrainian conflict.