DISINFO: Ukraine is trying to avoid entering negotiations
SUMMARY
Vladimir Putin is deploying every possible means to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, while Kyiv is attempting to evade negotiations.
RESPONSE
This is a Kremlin disinformation tactic designed to obscure its responsibility for continuing the war and to shift blame onto others.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly emphasised that a temporary ceasefire must be in place before any direct negotiations begin. However, Putin has rejected this condition and continued military operations, portraying the ceasefire demand as an obstacle to peace. For example, during the proposed May 2025 ceasefire period, Russia carried out drone strikes on Kyiv, undermining its own claims of wanting to reduce tensions. By refusing to halt hostilities, Russia ensures that negotiations take place under the threat of ongoing violence — not to encourage dialogue, but to coerce.
Putin’s proposal for talks in Istanbul on May 15, presented as having “no preconditions,” is misleading. Russia has long insisted that Ukraine cede occupied territories, abandon its bid for NATO membership, and adopt neutrality. These demands were included in the 2022 Istanbul draft agreement, which Ukraine rejected because they would legalize territorial conquest and erase its sovereignty. The Kremlin’s attempt to revive this framework shows that its true aim is not peace, but Ukraine’s capitulation.
Ukraine is not refusing diplomacy; it is insisting on terms that preserve its sovereignty. Zelensky’s conditions — a ceasefire, withdrawal of forces, and security guarantees — are grounded in the UN Charter’s principles of territorial integrity. In contrast, Russia’s terms compel Ukraine to legitimize illegal annexations and accept perpetual weakness.
By setting maximalist demands, violating ceasefire proposals, and spreading disinformation, Putin seeks to cement battlefield gains and portray Ukraine’s right to self-defence as illegitimate. A genuine peace would require Russia to withdraw its forces and renounce imperial ambitions — steps Moscow has consistently refused to take. See our article Root causes.
See also similar cases Russia wants to solve the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict, West wants to sabotage peace, Zelensky sabotages peace dialogue with Russia as did in Istanbul in 2022, Moscow can’t trust any peace agreement as Zelenskyy’s regime is stable only when at war.