Ukrainian MP Roman Kostenko says negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war have yielded no results. He argues there’s been no progress because Russia is sticking to demands that are unacceptable for Ukraine.
Kostenko, who serves as secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, shared his view in an interview with RBK-Ukraine. He said successful talks require strong positions, but a number of factors are preventing Ukraine from securing even a ceasefire.
In particular, he said Ukraine is being pushed to cede its territories, which is unacceptable, and that Russia is persuading Kyiv’s partners it has made major gains on the battlefield - claims he says are untrue. He added that Russia is intensifying strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure to force concessions.
“And the question is that we’re simply there. We keep being told there are some achievements—but believe me, I talk to people, and no one has told me about any achievements. Everything is as it was,” Kostenko said.
He noted the Kremlin demands it be handed the temporarily occupied territories, while Kyiv refuses; Russians raise demands about the Russian language - and the Ukrainian side responds that Ukraine has its own laws.
“For Russia this is important; they’re imposing it on us, and under this, let’s say, initiative of the Russian Federation, we’re trying to negotiate with them. The question is: why should Russia back off its demands? I don’t see it. They have every opportunity to press us,” the lawmaker said.
“Believe me, I’ve fought enough in my life, and I clearly understand that peace is better than any war. But not at the expense of Ukrainians who live on our territories, because even if we reach some kind of peace, we must immediately think about how we will take our territories back, whatever anyone else says, because our people remain there, and Ukrainians should not leave their people, their territories, to the enemy,” Roman Kostenko said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview published February 11 that the Kremlin had not received a 20-point peace plan on Ukraine via official or unofficial channels.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on February 11 that hostilities could end by the summer of 2026 if Russia also wants that outcome. He noted that the issue of occupied territories remains unresolved and stressed he cannot travel to negotiations with Vladimir Putin in the aggressor state’s capital, as proposed by the Kremlin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on February 12 that Putin’s position on talks with Zelensky remains unchanged, and a meeting could take place only in Moscow.
