Russia rules out withdrawal from Ukraine by end of 2022

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Dec. 13 that Kyiv needs to accept new territorial “realities,” dismissing a peace proposal by President Volodymyr Zelensky that would include the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.

According to Peskov, these “realities” include Russia’s illegal "annexation" of four Ukrainian regions – Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson oblasts.

Russia claims to have annexed these four Ukrainian regions after staging sham referendums. Russia doesn't entirely occupy either of these regions.

Ukraine and the West dismissed Russia's "referendums" as illegal and imposed a round of new sanctions on the country following the announcement.

Earlier on Nov. 15, Zelensky presented a ten-point peace plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine in a virtual speech to G20 leaders. The plan envisages preventing ecocide in Ukraine, punishing those responsible for war crimes, withdrawing all Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine, restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, and the release of all prisoners of war and deportees. The proposals also call for ensuring energy security, food security, and nuclear safety.

On Dec. 2, the Institute for the Study of War said that Russia would benefit from negotiations with Ukraine and Western countries that include a ceasefire, allowing it to prepare its military for further offensives against Ukraine.

On the same day, the White House also said that "Putin has shown absolutely no inclination to be interested in dialogue of any kind."

Life under occupation: 'I was forced to vote in sham referendum at gunpoint'

The Kyiv Independent