Russia's Demands for Ukraine Go Beyond Donbas

Russia reportedly has put forward far-reaching demands in negotiations to end its war against Ukraine, including Finland’s withdrawal from NATO, and the removal of Alliance military bases from the Baltic states.According to the German newspaper BILD’s report, cited by Anadolu agency, the proposals, reportedly shared with European representatives during the Abu Dhabi talks, go well beyond Ukraine’s borders and aim to establish what Moscow describes as a “new European security order.”JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.According to BILD, Russia wants to retain all Ukrainian territory currently under its occupation and receive the remaining parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions still controlled by Kyiv.Ukraine would also have to remain permanently non-aligned, ruling out NATO membership while leaving open the possibility of joining the EU.Moscow is also demanding the demilitarization of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv, which would be barred from serving as naval bases. Separate arrangements would reportedly guarantee freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and Baltic Sea.The proposals would also significantly alter NATO’s presence in Northern Europe.Russia reportedly wants all NATO military bases removed from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, while Finland would be required to leave the Alliance and return to its pre-membership status.Russia’s demands reportedly extend to Moldova and BelarusThe reported proposals also address Moldova’s political future. According to Belarusian newspaper Nasha Niva, Moscow wants the country transformed into a federal republic comprising Moldova, the autonomous region of Gagauzia, and the Russian-backed breakaway region of Transnistria. Other Topics of Interest Ukrainian commander Oleh Apostol says Russia could overcome Rassvet’s technical problems as Moscow plans more satellites and terminals. Under the proposal, if Moldova joins the EU, Transnistria and Gagauzia would have to be given the opportunity to hold independence referendums.In exchange for these broader concessions, Russia reportedly offers to withdraw its nuclear weapons from Belarus and refrain from deploying intermediate-range missiles, including Iskander and Oreshnik systems, there.Moscow would also be prepared to withdraw its troops from Transnistria, Nasha Niva reported.BILD stressed that the reported plan is only one of several proposals circulating in informal negotiating circles. It remains unclear which, if any, of the proposals Russian President Vladimir Putin personally supports.During his Thursday meeting with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Putin reiterated Moscow’s uncompromising demands, rejecting any foreign troop presence in Ukraine after a peace agreement.He warned that European forces deployed as part of a post-war security arrangement would become “legitimate military targets” and that the war would resume immediately.Putin also rejected proposals for demilitarized or “grey” zones between Russian and Ukrainian forces, insisting that “the state border” should be the only line of demarcation.The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) interpreted this as a reaffirmation of Moscow’s demand for full control over the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions – including territory Russian forces have never captured.Moscow has also shown no willingness to exchange occupied territory. Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said Russia would reject territorial swaps and continue expanding its so-called security zone in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions, which Moscow uses to justify its presence in Ukrainian border areas.Despite renewed US-mediated negotiations, Putin has given no indication that Moscow is prepared to abandon its original war aims or accept meaningful Western security guarantees for Kyiv. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.