Russia on Monday said it will cease military operations “in a moment” if Ukraine agrees to meet its demands.
Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov in a statement, said Ukraine must stop fighting, amend its constitution to guarantee neutrality, formally surrender Crimea to Russia, and recognize the independence of the Russian-backed breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine.
According to Peskov, if Ukraine enshrines neutrality in its constitution which would prevent it from joining NATO or the European Union and accepts Russia’s territorial demands, it will remain an “independent state that will live as it wants.”
The spokesperson maintained that Russia would finish the demilitarization of Ukraine, though he did not clarify what he meant by the statement.
However, responding to Peskov’s comments about demilitarization, Anatol Lieven, a fellow at the anti-interventionist Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft said any demand for “the abolition of the Ukrainian armed forces” would be a non-starter.
Meanwhile, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sunday said that at least 364 civilians have been killed since the Russia-Ukrain conflict began on Feb. 14.
