Russia unexpectedly presented Ukraine with a proposal for a ceasefire on selected sections of the front. The reason for this move is the possibility of receiving the bodies of fallen soldiers.
President Vladimir Putin’s advisor and head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, told press on Monday in Istanbul that a proposal was on the table. This came during the second round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, the second such talks since March 2022.
“We have proposed a specific ceasefire for two or three days in some areas of the front so that commanders can collect the bodies of their soldiers. The details are to be agreed between military specialists,” Medinsky emphasized, according to the Do Rzeczy news portal.
Putin’s advisor noted some urgency surrounding this, given what he called an “epidemic threat” in the war zone. “It’s hot now, due to the sanitary situation in the grey zone, there is a risk of an epidemic,” explained Vladimir Medinsky.
Russia also presented its own ceasefire proposal, containing demands considered overly aggressive by Ukraine. Moscow would agree to peace if Kyiv gave up large new swaths of territory and accepted limits on the size of its military.
The terms, formally presented at the negotiations in Istanbul, reinforced Moscow’s refusal to compromise on its long-standing war aims despite calls by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the “bloodbath” in Ukraine.
Ukraine, on the back of a slew of successful drone attacks on bases inside Russian territory that destroyed numerous strategic bombers, has called Russia’s peace terms tantamount to surrender.
The Kyiv and Moscow delegations spoke for just an hour, according to Do Rzeczy. The two countries did agree to exchange more prisoners of war, focusing on the youngest and most seriously injured, and return the bodies of 12,000 fallen soldiers.
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