The Ukrainian military must withdraw from Donbas for the peace process to move forward, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said. Talks between Moscow and Kiev will remain blocked until then, he told journalist Pavel Zarubin, adding that the Ukrainian government knows this.
Russia and Ukraine have held several rounds of talks, including with U.S. mediation, since early 2025, when President Donald Trump returned to the White House. The process has slowed since the last U.S.-brokered meeting in Geneva in February.
According to Ushakov, any new meeting will not change the situation if Ukrainian troops do not withdraw. "Until Ukraine takes the step, several more rounds, dozens of rounds of talks may take place, but we will remain in the same place," he said.
"They in Ukraine know that this needs to be done and they will do it sooner or later," the presidential aide said. Ushakov also said that Moscow maintains close contacts with Washington when it comes to the peace process, adding that Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, could visit Russia "soon."
"The US is now more preoccupied with the Middle East crisis, but it is not abandoning the Ukraine issue," he said, adding that Moscow and Washington "actively communicate by phone."
Earlier this week, Ushakov called a possible Ukrainian withdrawal from Donbass “a serious step” that would greatly advance the settlement process. Military actions would cease after that, he said on Thursday.
