Russian presidential aide says more talks useless if Kyiv refuses to leave Donbas

The settlement of the Ukrainian conflict will remain stuck in place even after dozens of rounds of negotiations if Ukraine does not withdraw its troops from Donbas, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said on Sunday.

Speaking in an interview with the "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" TV program author Pavel Zarubin in Moscow, Ushakov expressed hope that the Ukrainian authorities "will sooner or later understand that the withdrawal of their forces from Donbas is inevitable."

"As long as (Ukraine) does not take this step, we could have several more rounds, dozens of rounds of negotiations, but we will remain in the same place, you understand? That is the crux of the matter," he said. "They know in Ukraine that this needs to be done and that they will eventually do it anyway."

According to the official, Kyiv refuses to take this step because of European support.

Turning to the US position, he said Washington maintains an interest in the Ukrainian issue, and the impression that the US is abandoning it is incorrect.

"I would not say that Washington is somehow abandoning the Ukrainian issue. Our active telephone contacts are evidence of this. And, in particular, this initiative of US President Donald Trump (on the ceasefire), which he voiced and which we supported. So the Americans are working," Ushakov noted.

He pointed out that to implement the May 9-11 truce, the American representatives conducted negotiations for two days in parallel with Moscow and Kyiv.

"The agreement was reached during difficult negotiations. For two days we conducted telephone negotiations with American colleagues, while simultaneously the Americans were in contact with Kyiv. All of this was not easy," he stressed.

Ushakov called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's subsequent decree "allowing" the parade to be held in Moscow "unserious" and compared it to "clowning."

He said he expects US presidential representatives Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner will soon visit Moscow, and that Russian-American dialogue on the Ukrainian settlement will continue.

"I think fairly soon, our regular colleagues Steven Witkoff and Kushner will come to Moscow. We will continue the dialogue with them," he said.

Since the start of the conflict in February 2022, Russia and Ukraine have held numerous rounds of peace talks, including several mediated by the US in early 2026, but no breakthrough has been achieved due to fundamental disagreements over territory.