As of the morning of the 28th of February, local time, Russian and Ukrainian delegations have met on the Belarussian border, near Pripyat river, to discuss a compromise on peace. The Russian delegation had agreed to meet without any preconditions, a stark difference to a few days ago where they were demanding a surrender. According to multiple reports, Ukraine has demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from her entire territory, including Crimea which was annexed by Russia in 2014. President Zelenski has signed the letter requesting Ukraine’s membership to the EU. 

The Russian ambassador to the UN has underlined that Ukraine joining NATO remains a red line for them as it would pose a security risk to them, making military intervention a legitimate reaction on their part. He has also continued to reference Ukrainian suppression of Russians in Donbass and the 2014 coup as justifications for Russias ‘military operation’. In the meantime, in a telephone conversation between president Putin and president Macron, the former outlined his demands for a settlement, including 1. International recognition of Russian sovereignty in Crimea, 2. ‘demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine’ and 3. Ukrainian neutrality.

Hours after the first day of negotiations concluded, there seems there has been no headway. Zelensky’s advisor Michalo Podolyak has said that the Russian side is not ready to compromise. Negotiations are set to continue in the next few days.