WHO ELSE?? Kremlin Highlights 2022 Ukrainian Decree as Barrier to Peace Talks

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that a 2022 Ukrainian decree barring negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin complicates potential peace talks to end the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine. The decree, signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seven months after Russia’s 2022 invasion, raises questions about who could represent Ukraine in negotiations, Peskov noted during a daily press call.

Peskov called Zelenskyy’s Tuesday statement expressing readiness to negotiate peace with Russia “positive,” but emphasized that the 2022 decree remains a hurdle. Signed in September 2022, the decree followed Russia’s illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia—declaring talks with Putin impossible. It also directed Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council to strengthen defenses and secure more Western arms.

Neither Ukrainian nor Western officials have recently addressed the decree amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to halt the conflict. On Monday, the Trump administration paused vital military aid to Ukraine, seemingly pressuring Zelenskyy to negotiate. It’s unclear if aid will resume following Zelenskyy’s apparent conciliatory remarks.

On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces are struggling to counter Russian advances along the 1,000-kilometer front line, particularly in eastern Donetsk. Despite heavy losses, Russia has not achieved a decisive breakthrough in the grueling war of attrition, which has claimed tens of thousands of soldiers and over 12,000 Ukrainian civilians.

In 2022, the Kremlin said it would wait for Ukraine to agree to talks, suggesting a resolution might depend on a new Ukrainian leader. For now, the 2022 decree remains a legal and symbolic obstacle as both sides navigate the prospect of negotiations amid ongoing violence and shifting international pressures.