Latest news with #MinskAgreements
The Independent
19-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Vladimir Putin declares truce in Ukraine - but how many times has he broken ceasefire agreements?
Vladimir Putin has declared a 'Easter truce' in Ukraine, ordering his forces to end hostilities at 6pm on Saturday until the end of Sunday. The Russian Defence Ministry said it had given instructions on the ceasefire to all group commanders in the area of the "special military operation", which is the Kremlin 's term for the war. However, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian air defence units had hours earlier repelled an attack by Russian drones saying this showed Moscow's true attitude to Easter and the lives of people. The Russian president has an extensive history of breaking peace agreements. Last month, Mr Putin broke an energy infrastructure ceasefire hours after telling Mr Trump his forces would stop attacks. Earlier this year, Mr Zelensky handed a document to Mr Trump's Ukraine envoy detailing what he said were the 25 ceasefires Russia had violated since the start of its aggression in 2014. . Below, we look at some of those agreements and how exactly these previous ceasefires broke down. The Minsk Agreements After pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in 2014 following the Euromaidan revolution, Mr Putin sent plainclothes Russian soldiers into the southern Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, and then into the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. Fighting quickly broke out as Russia denied involvement. Moscow claimed it was Ukrainian separatist forces. Nonetheless, by September of that year, Ukraine, Russia and the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) convened for the first of what would be many peace talks. They were brokered by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). On 5 September, the first of two agreements was signed in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. Its provisions included prisoner exchanges, the delivery of humanitarian aid and the withdrawal of heavy weapons. But a day later, Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council announced that Russian troops had fired at Ukrainian positions at least 10 times. The ceasefire failed to materialise into anything substantive. By the turn of the year, fighting had intensified. Pro-Russian insurgents attacked Ukrainian positions at Debaltseve, a transport hub near the administrative line between Donetsk and Luhansk, eventually forcing a Ukrainian withdrawal by mid-February. At that point, a second agreement was underway in Minsk, this time overseen by German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Francois Hollande. The agreement came into effect on 15 February but lasted only a few minutes, as Russian units fired on a Ukrainian checkpoint near Zolote in Luhansk Oblast, according to Ukraine's military. Easter and Christmas ceasefires For the next four years, Russia and Ukraine agreed to several ceasefires a year, often timed with Christmas, Easter or the harvest, around June/July. Not a single one held for very long. On several occasions, the OSCE helped broker agreements, but skirmishes broke out quickly. Neither side believed a truce could hold. Soldiers would fire at one another within hours of the supposed start of a ceasefire. The OSCE said both sides would also deny them access to inspect military equipment, though they said the Russian-backed rebels were typically guilty of the more serious violations of ceasefire agreements. Back in 2022, just a few months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a ceasefire was proposed to take place between 21 and 25 April. UN Secretary-General António Guterres put forward the idea, aiming to "open a series of humanitarian corridors" and allow for the "safe exit of all civilians wishing to leave areas of confrontation". But the plan never came to fruition. While Ukraine expressed support for the proposal, Russia rejected it, saying it did not want to give Kyiv's forces a chance to rest. Russia's deputy permanent representative to the UN, Mr Dmitry Polyansky, called the proposal 'insincere' and claimed it would give Ukrainian troops more time to regroup and receive weapons. Zelensky's 2019 and 2020 attempts It was just two months after the comedian-turned-politician Mr Zelensky assumed his role as the president of Ukraine that he found himself opposite Mr Putin for the latest round of peace talks. Ms Merkel and the new French president Emmanuel Macron oversaw the talks. In a written statement, the countries agreed to the release and exchange of all 'conflict-related detainees' by the end of 2019. They also pledged to disengage military forces in three additional regions of Ukraine by the end of March 2020, without specifying which regions would be affected. But it was a deal that was doomed to fail. 'We saw differences today,' Mr Macron admitted at the time. 'We didn't find the miracle solution, but we have advanced on it.' The following July, another agreement was struck, one that did reduce the level of fighting but never quite stopped it completely. 2025 energy infrastructure ceasefire Mr Putin broke his promise to Mr Trump to stop attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure just hours after his agreement with the US president. In a readout of a call between the two leaders in March, the Kremlin said Mr Trump had requested that Russia refrain from striking energy infrastructure. It added that Mr Putin had responded 'positively' to this request and had 'immediately given the Russian military the corresponding command'. But Russia fired several ballistic missiles and nearly 150 drones across Ukraine a few hours later, cutting off electricity in the eastern city of Slovyansk, damaging two medical facilities in the northeast Sumy region, and wounding people in the capital of Kyiv. Russian state media then claimed that Ukrainian drones had hit an oil facility in the Krasnodar Krai region, sparking a small fire at an oil depot located near the village of Kavkazskaya. Russian site Shot posted a video of a fire in what seemed like an industrial area, but it was unclear if this was of the actual attack. Ukrainian governmental and local authorities posted extensive footage of Russia's attacks.
Russia Today
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russia will ‘finish off' Ukrainian forces
President Vladimir Putin has declared that Russian forces are gaining momentum across the entire line of contact and could soon 'finish off' Kiev's military, while commenting on attempts by its European backers to derail a diplomatic resolution of the conflict. The Russian president made the remarks on Thursday during a meeting with the crew of the Arkhangelsk nuclear submarine, equipped with Zircon hypersonic missiles. Putin reiterated that Moscow has always sought to resolve the conflict through diplomatic means but was met with deception and obstruction from the West – first with the failed Minsk Agreements and then during the 2022 Istanbul peace talks. 'Their European handlers… convinced the Ukrainian leadership that they had to continue armed resistance, essentially to the last Ukrainian, with the goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia,' he said. READ MORE: Key points of Putin's idea to place Ukraine under UN control Putin accused Western leaders – specifically former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson – of underestimating Russia's resolve, and warned that the country's military capabilities should not be taken lightly. 'He must have forgotten that there are people like you – and weapons like your submarine,' Putin told the naval crew. 'Apparently, he forgot, or maybe they simply do not understand what the Russian people are made of.' The Russian president said the conflict is reaching a turning point and expressed confidence in the outcome, noting that 'across the entire line of combat engagement, our troops hold the strategic initiative.' Not long ago I said, 'We'll squeeze them.' Now there's reason to believe we'll finish them off. Then, I think a moment of realization must come to the Ukrainian people themselves. Despite his hardline tone, Putin reiterated that Russia remains open to peace negotiations – but only if the core causes of the conflict are addressed. 'We are in favor of resolving these issues by peaceful means… But the root causes must be eliminated. We must ensure Russia's security for the long historical perspective,' he said. READ MORE: Moscow backs ceasefire despite Kiev's breaches – Kremlin Russia has repeatedly stated that it is open to peace talks, but insists that a true settlement of the conflict requires a permanent and legally-binding solution. Moscow opposes any NATO presence on Ukrainian soil and demands that Kiev demilitarize, denazify, adhere to a position of neutrality, and recognize the territorial 'realities on the ground.' On March 18, the Russian military was ordered to refrain from attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure under a deal agreed upon by President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump. However, the Russian Ministry of Defense has since reported multiple Ukrainian violations, which it described as attempts to undermine Trump's mediation efforts.
Russia Today
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russia will never blindly trust ‘Western partners' again
President Vladimir Putin has emphasized that Moscow's trust in European capitals has been fundamentally broken, stating that while Russia remains open to working with the EU to resolve the Ukraine conflict, it will no longer do so on the basis of trust. The remarks came during Putin's meeting with Russian submarine crews following the launch of a new nuclear sub on Thursday, in the context of what Putin described as a 'sincere' effort by US President Donald Trump to find a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. While expressing cautious optimism toward Washington, the Russian leader made clear that Europe is no longer regarded as a trustworthy interlocutor. 'We are ready to work with Europe,' Putin said. 'But they behave inconsistently and keep trying to string us along. That's fine – we're used to it now. I hope we won't make any more mistakes based on trust in our so-called Western partners.' Putin accused Western leaders – particularly in France, Germany, and the UK – of manipulating previous peace efforts, especially the Minsk Agreements, as a tactic to buy time and rearm Ukraine. READ MORE: France and UK rebrand possible military deployment to Ukraine 'Unfortunately, former leaders of some Western countries – specifically former [French President Hollande] and former [German Chancellor Angela Merkel] – openly and without shame admitted that they only needed the Minsk Agreements to rearm the Ukrainian regime and prepare it for military action against us,' Putin said. He added that European diplomacy had become little more than a smokescreen. 'We tried to resolve these issues peacefully for eight years,' he said. 'Even when the conflict entered a hot phase in 2022, we still proposed to solve everything at the negotiating table.' Putin singled out former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as having played a decisive role in derailing the 2022 Istanbul peace talks. 'It is well known that Western handlers... arrived and persuaded the Ukrainian leadership to continue armed resistance to the end, essentially to the last Ukrainian, with the goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia,' he said. Despite the past breaches of trust, Putin maintained that Russia is still open to dialogue – including with European capitals – but stressed that future agreements must rest on firm, enforceable guarantees. READ MORE: Putin proposes the UN to temporary govern Ukraine As part of this approach, he floated the idea of placing Ukraine under a temporary international administration. He suggested that a UN-led transitional authority could organize elections and establish a legitimate government capable of negotiating a lasting peace. 'Of course, it would be possible – under the UN's auspices and together with the United States, European countries, and our partners – to discuss the introduction of temporary administration in Ukraine,' Putin said. 'In order to hold democratic elections and bring a capable, trusted government to power, with whom we could then sign legally binding agreements.' He concluded by reaffirming that any resolution must address Russia's long-term strategic interests. 'We must, without question, ensure Russia's security for the long historical perspective,' he said.
Russia Today
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Mending Russia–US ties, EU undermining Trump, and Ukraine–Greenland parallels: Key points from Lavrov interview
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed a sweeping range of international issues, focusing heavily on what he described as constructive signals from US President Donald Trump and his team, while simultaneously criticizing European governments for what he called efforts to sabotage any momentum toward a peaceful resolution in Ukraine. Below are the key takeaways from Lavrov's interview with Russia's Channel 1, broadcast in the early hours of Wednesday morning following a marathon 12-hour negotiation session between Russian and American representatives in Riyadh on Monday. Kiev is fundamentally untrustworthy Lavrov asserted that the 'Kiev regime' is not only breaking all agreements but doing so in ways that seem deliberately provocative. He recalled how Kiev publicly agreed to a 30-day ceasefire following the March 11 meeting with US officials in Jeddah, yet on the very same day launched a record 340 drone attacks on central Russia, including Moscow, targeting civilian infrastructure. READ MORE: Zelensky speaks out on US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia The foreign minister emphasized that this was not an isolated case, but part of a larger pattern. From violations of the Minsk Agreements to broken promises made during Turkish-brokered discussions in 2023, Lavrov painted a picture of a fundamentally untrustworthy government that uses negotiations as a tactical pause – only to regroup and escalate. 'Every time a ceasefire is suddenly declared, Ukraine agrees to it solely because at that specific historical moment it found itself in a hopeless situation on the battlefield. As soon as there was a pause, immediately within weeks or a couple of months, this ceasefire was grossly violated,' the top diplomat stated. Moscow believes that only a 'direct order issued by Washington' can compel Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky to observe any potential truce. 'Our position is simple… We cannot take this man's word for it,' Lavrov said. EU undermining Trump's efforts Lavrov accused European powers – specifically France and the UK – of deliberately undercutting President Trump's diplomatic overtures. According to Lavrov, European leaders have pushed for so-called 'peacekeeping missions' to be deployed in Ukrainian-controlled territories in a bid to lock in Western influence and obstruct a neutral, negotiated settlement. READ MORE: EU 'contradicting' US on Ukraine – Lavrov 'When the 'remainder' of Ukraine, if it persists in any form, is taken under the control of NATO countries' security forces (no matter under what flag), no one says they will then strengthen democracy in the remaining territory. No one says they will repeal the racist, Russophobic laws that exterminate everything Russian,' Lavrov said. He described this as an effort to undermine Washington's role in a future settlement and to preserve a hardline anti-Russia posture, regardless of who is in the White House. Lavrov said these actions run counter to US de-escalation efforts, insisting that by pressing for a long-term NATO presence in Ukraine, Europe is seeking to anchor the conflict's status quo and make any Russian-American compromise more difficult. European militarization & seeking strategic defeat of Russia Lavrov warned that Kiev's European backers remain fully committed to a strategy of 'strategic defeat' for Russia, comparing current Western behavior to the united fronts seen during the Napoleonic Wars and World War II. He noted that countries like Germany, France, and the UK are ramping up military spending while neglecting their own domestic economic challenges. READ MORE: Rubio accuses 'other countries' of blocking peace in Ukraine He cautioned that the European call to arm Ukraine indefinitely – even amid discussions of a ceasefire – reveals that Brussels is more interested in using Ukraine as a proxy battleground than in pursuing peace. EU leaders, he argued, are 'remilitarizing Europe' under the illusion that Russia can be isolated and weakened. Biden's colossal mistake Lavrov was blunt in his criticism of former US President Joe Biden's foreign policy, particularly in regard to Ukraine. He argued that Biden's insistence on NATO expansion, coupled with a refusal to engage with Russia's security concerns, triggered the current crisis. Lavrov said Biden ignored repeated warnings from Moscow – some dating back to Putin's 2007 Munich speech – and instead pursued a confrontational, ideological agenda. He reiterated Russia's view that Biden weaponized the US dollar and global financial system, turning them into tools of coercion. This strategy, Lavrov claimed, backfired, pushing countries to seek alternatives to the dollar and spurring support for BRICS-based platforms. 'Donald Trump, even before he became US president, said after the elections that Joe Biden made a colossal mistake – if not a crime – when he began to use the dollar to 'punish' certain countries. As a result, not only those whom he tried to punish, depriving them of the opportunity to use it, but also others began to take a closer look,' Lavrov said. Trump's focus on US national interests In contrast, Lavrov was relatively optimistic about the direction of US foreign policy under Trump, praising what he called a realistic, interest-driven approach. He emphasized that Trump's team acknowledges that great powers may have conflicting interests but must find ways to avoid direct confrontation. Lavrov said Trump's emphasis on national interest over ideological campaigns represents a welcome shift. He added that the Trump administration recognizes Russia's security needs, and that mutual respect is the only path forward. Restoring mutually beneficial Moscow–Washington ties Lavrov made it clear that Moscow is open to restoring ties with Washington – but not under the Biden-era framework. Dialogue, he insisted, must be mutually respectful and based on enforceable agreements. Quoting President Ronald Reagan, Lavrov said: 'Trust, but verify. We won't forget that.' READ MORE: White House reveals details of US-Russia talks in Riyadh 'We do not have any illusions... But we have a consensus that Trump's team wants to make these relations mutually beneficial where possible, mutually respectful where we disagree, and not allow the disagreements between the two largest nuclear powers to escalate into a confrontation,' Lavrov added, calling US-Russia ties under Biden an 'anomaly,' now giving way to a return to 'normalcy.' Ukraine–Greenland parallels READ MORE: US annexation of Greenland 'will happen' and NATO could 'get involved' – Trump In one of his more striking analogies, Lavrov invoked Greenland to explain Ukraine's strategic value to Russia. He recalled how Trump repeatedly floated the idea of annexing Greenland for US security reasons, arguing that Ukraine is vastly more important to Russia's national security than Greenland is to the United States. 'We talked about this with the Americans… Such comparisons are very important for them. For the legitimate security interests of Russia, Ukraine is several orders of magnitude more important than Greenland is for ensuring US security. They understand that comparison,' Lavrov said. Lavrov also criticized Western geopolitical double standards, noting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte hypocrisy in defending Ukraine's territorial integrity while downplaying US interest in Greenland, a Danish territory. Strategic arms control involving China On strategic arms control, Lavrov maintained that the question of expanding treaties like New START to include China is entirely up to Beijing. He also emphasized that China's nuclear arsenal is far smaller than those of Russia or the US, and by the same logic any expansion of talks must also include nuclear-armed NATO members like France and the UK. Lavrov reaffirmed Russia's support for the Reagan-Gorbachev principle that 'a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,' but said a serious resumption of arms control talks with Washington would require a return to mutual respect and a reversal of the current 'enemy doctrine' in US and NATO policy toward Russia.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Who is Sergey Beseda, Russian spy handler leading talks with US?
Sergey Beseda, former head of the 5th Service of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), was an unconventional choice to represent his country in the talks with the U.S. in Saudi Arabia on March 24. Seventy-year-old General Beseda, however, has been deeply involved in Russia's all-out war against Ukraine from the very beginning. He is thought to have played one of the key roles in keeping Russian President Vladimir Putin informed about the situation in Ukraine ahead of the full-scale invasion. Based on the intelligence provided by the 5th Service, the Russian authorities were confident that the Russian army would not meet serious resistance in Ukraine, the Russian investigative outlet IStories reported early in the all-out war. The data provided by Beseda's 5th Service turned out to be inaccurate in many ways. Soon after, Beseda allegedly faced backlash but wasn't written off. Last summer, he resigned from his post and now serves as an advisor to FSB Head Aleksandr Bortnikov. The Russian delegation is also spearheaded by Grigory Karasin, 75, a Russian senator and career diplomat who is a staunch supporter of Moscow's all-out war against Ukraine. Both officials are under Western sanctions. The talks in Riyadh have reportedly focused on Washington's push for a possible ceasefire, including one at sea. Ukraine's Military Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov described Beseda as 'a very problematic person for Ukraine.' When asked who among Russian generals is the most dangerous for the country, Budanov was undecided but said that Beseda 'has always brought problems to Ukraine.' 'He is a very problematic person. He has done a lot of evil for Ukraine. It is fine, time will sort everything out,' Budanov said in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda in the fall of 2023. Read also: What were the Minsk Agreements and why did they fail to bring peace in Ukraine? Beseda has been a career intelligence officer for most of his life, beginning his work in the FSB predecessor — Soviet KGB. He led the 5th Service for 15 years, taking office in 2009 and being ousted in 2024. Beseda's name made headlines in 2014. He was present in Kyiv from Feb. 20 to 21, during the bloodiest days of the EuroMaidan Revolution. Between Feb. 18 and 20, around 100 protestors were gunned down, and hundreds were injured by law enforcement loyal to pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, the former head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said that Beseda was based at the SBU training ground. 'Russia's military involvement essentially started not in Crimea, but with the events on Maidan (Independence Square), by the interference of Russian generals in the events in Ukraine,' Nalyvaichenko said. According to Nalyvaichenko, Beseda was commanding Ukraine's law enforcement during their attack on protestors. Facing outrage in Ukraine, the FSB admitted in 2014 that Beseda was in Kyiv during the revolution, claiming that he was sent to determine the 'level of protection' of the Russian Embassy in Ukraine and 'other Russian institutions' in the city. Last year, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office concluded that the murders were carried out by Ukrainian law enforcement officers under the orders of Ukrainian authorities and Russia's guidance. Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation charged FSB's Chief Bortnikov and other 20 top officials of Russian special services with the obstruction of protests during the revolution. In his memoir, former U.S. Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan wrote that Beseda was also involved in talks on a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia in 2021. FSB's 5th Service, led by Beseda for years, is officially in charge of the agency's relations with foreign partners and gathering information in former Soviet republics, including Ukraine. The Washington Post (WP), citing its sources, reported in 2022 that the FSB 'has spent decades spying on Ukraine,' trying to infiltrate its institutions, bribing officials, and preventing any shift towards the West. There were reports that Beseda had been arrested after the failed swift conquest of Ukraine, but Moscow did not officially confirm this information. Russian journalist Andrey Soldatov claimed that he was charged with embezzling funds allocated for subversion in Ukraine. According to Budanov, Beseda was 'suspended' from his duties for some time but was soon back on track. Budanov said that as of the fall of 2023, the FSB general was actively involved in operations against Ukraine. 'He continues to work and is a very serious enemy of our state,' he said. After the first round of the U.S.-Russia talks, the Washington Post outlined a draft document prepared by a Moscow think tank that worked closely with the 5th Service. The document reportedly laid out Russia's maximalist demands for ending the war, including a buffer zone in northeastern Ukraine along the borders with Bryansk and Belgorod oblasts and a demilitarized zone in southern Ukraine. The document, drafted in February, further calls for "the complete dismantling" of Ukraine's current government and says that peace is unlikely before 2026. It is unclear what — if any — role this document plays in the Kremlin's decision-making. Read also: 'They are Russian-speaking, and there have been referendums,' — Witkoff parrots Russian propaganda, legitimizing Putin's claims in Ukraine We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
