Russian President Vladimir Putin has nevertheless recognized his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky as the legitimate leader of Ukraine and a future participant in the negotiations. At the same time, he has supported a new information operation aimed at destabilizing Ukrainian society and the Ukrainian army from within.
Putin gave an interview to Kremlin journalist Pavel Zarubin on February 24, in which he stated that "elections in Ukraine are not being held under the pretext of martial law" - Putin's first admission that Ukrainian legislation prohibits elections during martial law.
This is written in the latest analysis on Ukraine by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Putin said that Zelensky is "toxic" for Ukrainian society and the army and that he will lose future presidential elections to other Ukrainian political and military leaders. The statements are likely aimed at the Ukrainian and Russian public. Putin's claims that Zelensky is unpopular and harmful to Ukraine are attempts to drive a wedge between the legitimate government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian army and population.
As part of Russia's explanations for why there can be no negotiations on Ukraine, Putin has repeatedly claimed that Zelensky is not the legitimate leader after the country failed to hold elections in 2024.
US President Donald Trump has said that Putin and Zelensky should engage in negotiations. Putin is likely trying to explain to the Russian domestic public his change in his decision to engage in future negotiations with Zelensky.
Putin said during the interview with Zarubin that Russia "has nothing against" preserving Ukrainian statehood, but wants it to "become a friendly neighboring state" and "not to be used as a springboard for an attack on Russia" in the future.
Putin also called for the removal of the democratically elected government in Ukraine and the establishment of a pro-Kremlin government. The Kremlin has previously used thinly veiled calls for "denazification" to demand regime change in Ukraine. It appears to be using new language to make these same demands.
Putin insists on regime change in Ukraine by summer 2021.
Putin also proposed a deal with the US for Russian rare earth minerals as part of an effort to accept Russian proposals for economic measures in lieu of any real Russian concessions to Ukraine. He said that Russia has more rare earth materials than Ukraine - both in Russia and in occupied Ukraine. He also proposed deals with the US for the supply of Russian aluminum. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on February 25 that any cooperation in the field of rare earth minerals could only begin after normalization of bilateral relations and a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.
ISW assessed that Russian officials used the recent US-Russian talks in Saudi Arabia to pressure the United States to accept economic benefits unrelated to the war in Ukraine in exchange for Ukrainian and Western concessions that are related to the war.
Adopting these economic measures without demanding any Russian concessions for Ukraine in return would deprive the United States of the leverage it would need to achieve Trump's stated goal of achieving a lasting peace that also benefits Ukraine.
Putin has tried to claim that he supports European involvement in the Ukraine talks, while continuing to show his reluctance to make concessions and seemingly offering Russian allies as possible future negotiating parties. Putin responded to Zarubin's question about Putin's assessment of the Europeans' "demands" for a "voice in the negotiations" on Ukraine, stating that he "sees nothing wrong with it."
Putin then said that "probably no one can demand anything here, especially from Russia," but they can try to make demands of someone else - signaling Russia's unwillingness to compromise in future negotiations. Putin said that Moscow respects the positions of Russia's BRICS "friends" and that "other countries have the right and can participate" in discussions on issues related to the war and efforts to achieve peace. Putin specifically highlighted his recent conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping and welcomed efforts to discuss peace in Ukraine. China and Brazil, two members of the BRICS group, have presented peace proposals for the war in Ukraine that heavily favor Russia, and Putin seems to envision these countries as possible participants in future negotiations.
Kremlin officials continue to use diplomatic engagements with Russia's allies to bolster Moscow's narrative that Russia invaded Ukraine to protect its Russian-speaking minorities. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran.
The Russian Foreign Ministry (MFA) said the delegations had "touched upon" the situation in Ukraine and that Lavrov expressed gratitude to Iranian authorities for their "balanced position" and their understanding of the "root causes" about the war, including Russia's need to protect Russian-speaking minorities from alleged discrimination by the Ukrainian government.
Lavrov met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on February 20, and the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wang stressed that China's approach to resolving the war in Ukraine focused on addressing the "root causes" of the war, while the official MFA account of the meeting attributed all discussions about the "root causes" of the war to Lavrov, not Wang.
Russia has sought to use the meetings with its allies to publicly reiterate its calls for regime change in Ukraine and to portray Russia's allies as supporting these efforts.
A delegation from the North Korean Workers' Party arrived in Moscow on February 25 at the invitation of Russia's ruling party, United Russia, amid reports that North Korea may be sending more materials to Russia. Russian and North Korean state media reported that the head of the consular department of the Russian Foreign Ministry (MFA) Andrei Klimov and North Korea's ambassador to Russia Sin Hong Chol met with a high-ranking North Korean delegation, including North Korean Politburo member Ri Hee Yong, in Moscow.
The Russian embassy in Pyongyang said on February 24 that the delegations would discuss enhanced cooperation between United Russia and the WPK in accordance with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement between Russia and North Korea, which entered into force in December 2024.
South Korean media outlet Korea Joong Ang Daily reported on February 24 that commercial satellite images collected by PlanetLabs PBC showed a 110-meter-long ship entering and leaving the North Korean port of Rason near the border with China and Russia.
Satellite images also showed a row of containers about 100 meters long at a pier in Rason Port to the berthed ship. The ship reportedly arrived at the inner side of the Rason Port wharf on February 20 and moved to the outer side on February 21.
This indicates that the ship unloaded containers on the inner side of the wharf and loaded new containers on the outer side before departing. ISW reported that North Korea likely used Rason Port to transfer ammunition to Vladivostok, Russia in November 2023.
Western officials continue to emphasize the scale of European military aid to Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing European officials, reported on February 25 that European Union (EU) countries, the United Kingdom and Norway have provided Ukraine with approximately $25 billion in military aid in 2024. and that this is more than what the United States sent to Ukraine in 2024.
An unspecified Western official also told the WSJ that Europe supplies about 25 percent of Ukraine's military equipment, and the United States supplies about 20 percent.