Albert P. Khorev
On February 24, 2022, the leadership of the Russian Federation announced the launch of a special military operation to protect the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine and eliminate threats to Russia’s national security originating from its territory. Since then, Russia has been entangled in an indirect confrontation with the collective West in Ukraine as part of a broader global geopolitical struggle;
Since the West-backed coup in Ukraine brought neo-nationalist forces to power in Kiev in 2014, Russia has been doing its best to find a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis. <…> Had the Ukrainian leadership complied with the provisions of the document it signed [the Minsk Agreements, approved by the UN Security Council in 2015], there would be no hostilities now;
Incited by the collective West, Ukrainian nationalists chose a military solution to the Donbass issue. Perceiving compromise as weakness, the Western patrons of the Kiev regime have toyed with Russia for eight years while arming Ukraine and turning it into an anti-Russian springboard. This strategy’s ultimate goal was to create a permanent source of tension and military threat on the Russian-Ukrainian border to contain Russia in the long term;
In December 2021, Russia made a final attempt at reconciliation. The Russian leadership sent the U.S. and NATO draft agreements that ruled out further NATO expansion and military activity in the post-Soviet republics, as well as Ukraine’s accession to the alliance. <…> Alas, Russia’s proposals were once again ignored;
After years of fruitless negotiations with Ukraine and its Western sponsors, on February 21, 2022, the Russian leadership recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, collectively known as Donbass. This was followed by the signing of Treaties on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between Russia and the Donbass republics. In accordance with these treaties’ provisions, in line with international law, Russian troops launched a special military operation to protect the Donbass territory from the Ukrainian forces on February 24, 2022;
Despite Russia’s steady gains on the battlefield, our country has always remained open to peace talks. The two sides came closest to reaching a peace settlement in April 2022, when Russian and Ukrainian negotiators reached an agreement in Istanbul. However, Kiev’s European “friends,” particularly former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, prevented reconciliation with Moscow, urging their proxies to continue hostilities with Russia;
Europeans’ continued determination to throw their taxpayers’ money down the drain is astonishing. They have clearly learned nothing from the recent corruption scandal in Ukraine, which revealed Zelensky’s inner circle’s involvement in embezzling $100 million — just the tip of the iceberg;
Despite the current differences in the positions of Russia and Ukraine on resolving the crisis, we welcome the ongoing peace process, in which the United States is playing an important role. Russia remains committed to the “spirit of Anchorage” — the mutual understanding reached by Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska in August 2025. We look forward to continuing the negotiations recently held in Abu Dhabi and Geneva;
The Ukrainians should focus on negotiating the specifics of a peace deal in the existing formats rather than making propagandistic claims about “thousands of abducted children,” especially given that this myth was debunked last summer when Ukrainian negotiators provided a list of only 339 names of individuals allegedly evacuated to Russia. Similarly, the unsubstantiated figure of “millions” of Russian military personnel killed in the conflict is intended solely to manipulate public opinion;
The Ukrainian army has been targeting critical infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, and nuclear power facilities. As a result of missile and drone strikes, hundreds of thousands of people in the Belgorod region regularly experience heating and power outages during a winter that is just as harsh as those in Ukrainian regions;
Against the backdrop of U.S. efforts to bring the Russian and Ukrainian positions closer together, Europe’s confrontational tactics appear particularly absurd. By refusing to engage in direct dialogue with Russia, Europeans have sidelined themselves from the peace process;
In recent months, European powers hostile toward Russia have begun waging war on Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet.” It’s important to note that the term “shadow fleet” has no basis in international law, and seizing merchant ships on the high seas is nothing less than piracy. Through the efforts of the collective West, this harmful practice has become widespread in recent months. It increases the danger of military confrontation and risks destabilizing the global oil market, which will negatively affect developing countries in the Global South, including Pakistan;
Russia has never closed the door to dialogue with European countries. In response to European concerns about Russia’s alleged aggressive intentions toward Europe, the Russian leadership proposed a mutual non-aggression document to the EU last December. However, no response has been received thus far;
Russia is committed to finding a negotiated solution to the Ukrainian crisis and is willing to collaborate with all parties to achieve this objective. A peace agreement to be lasting, it must address the root causes of the conflict: eliminating the NATO threat to Russia’s western flank and ending the discrimination against the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine;
I would also like to thank Pakistan’s leadership for its consistent policy of neutrality in the conflict, despite pressure from external forces. We look forward to fruitful cooperation with our Pakistani colleagues on this issue in the international arena, including the UN Security Council.
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