Russia indicates it’s open to Ukraine joining EU
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Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said on Friday that a ceasefire in Ukraine is only possible after Kyiv's forces withdraw from the entire Donbas region, with the area they currently control taken over by Russian National Guard,
Ushakov says postwar Donbass may see no Russian or Ukrainian troops, but National Guard and police maintaining order there.
Russia has signalled that it will agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine only if Kyiv withdraws all its troops from the Donbas region, insisting that any remaining Ukrainian-held areas be placed under the control of its National Guard.
The Kremlin could turn the Donbas into a “demilitarized zone” with a Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia) and police presence, but only if Ukrainian troops were to also withdraw from the region, a top aide to President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.