From: New Voice of Ukraine 🇺🇦 After talks with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán described that the gap between the negotiating positions of Moscow and Kyiv as ‘very serious.’
And indeed, Putin’s demands seem unserious even to those who advocate for a ceasefire and subsequent peace talks—to people like Orbán. Recall, Putin insists that a ceasefire is possible only after Ukrainian troops withdraw from the entirety of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. He reiterated the demand at a joint briefing with the Hungarian PM.
None of this, of course, is included in the pace plans proposed by China or Hungary. Essentially demanding Ukrainian capitulation, Putin’s position remains largely unchanged since early 2022. And, of course, he expects that if he succeeds in forcing Ukraine to recognize some its regions as Russian and withdraw troops from there, it will demoralize Ukrainian society so much that the Ukrainian state collapsing or falling into Moscow’s sphere of influence will be a matter of time.
Voice of Ukraine 