Russia will not offer any concessions in future peace talks with Kyiv, including deploying peacekeepers in Ukraine, according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Not only that, Russian President Vladimir Putin has also declared 2025 the 'Year of the Defender of the Fatherland'.
The report added that Putin's declaration of 2025 as the 'Year of the Defender of the Fatherland' hints that he is not willing to give up its territory, including the ones it annexed in Ukraine over the last three years, for peace. He also wants to prioritise militarising Russian society and rallying support behind Russia's war effort in Ukraine in 2025, the ISW report added.
The Russian President made his intentions clear during a visit to the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation's Moscow branch on March 6. He then made it clear that Russia does not intend to "give in to anyone".
During the meeting, Putin said Russia must choose a peace option that best suits Russia and will ensure peace in the long term. He referenced how Russian society collapsed during the First World War and urged Russians to maintain support and unity as the war continued, stating that it was critical for Russian victory.
Not just Putin, even Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a press conference on Thursday that Russia would reject proposals to station European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine to enforce a future ceasefire agreement. "Russia sees no room for compromise on this issue and will consider the presence of a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine as akin to "direct, official, undisguised involvement of NATO countries" in the war," Lavrov said.
**Russian information campaign**
The ISW report added that Russia would likely take advantage of the suspension of intelligence sharing with Ukraine to portray Russian victory as inevitable. Russian Ministry of Defense's (MoD) Main Military-Political Directorate deputy head Major General Apti Alaudinov, stated on March 6 that Russia should consider conducting a full-scale mobilization, which would build up the Russian military to "at least a couple million \[troops\]."
He said it was the time when either "NATO will fall apart" and "\[Russia\] will destroy Europe" or Europe "can make peace" with Russia and claimed that "it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield." He will likely intensify the false narrative to scare the Western powers into making concessions on Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.