Document Reveals Russia's Initial Demands for Ukraine’s Surrender

A document has surfaced revealing Russia's initial demands from Ukraine at the outset of the war, reportedly presented by Russia's delegation to Ukraine during negotiations in Belarus in early March 2022. This document, seen by Sistema (part of Radio Svoboda, a media outlet labeled a "foreign agent" in Russia), was shared by a Ukrainian source, with its authenticity confirmed by a source within Russia.

According to the document, Russia's demands outlined the version of Ukraine it sought to establish as the war began, which, according to investigators, amounted to a complete capitulation. The Russian delegation proposed reducing Ukraine's military to a force of 50,000 soldiers—around a fifth of Ukraine's pre-2022 military capacity. The armed forces were to be limited to a minimal defense structure, with only four naval vessels, 55 helicopters, and 300 tanks, a smaller arsenal than Belarus.

Another provision required Ukraine to acknowledge the independence of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), recognizing their borders as encompassing the entirety of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. Additionally, Ukraine would be required to bear responsibility for damage from ongoing fighting that began in 2014.

Russia also demanded the recognition of Russian as a state language in Ukraine, alongside the lifting of restrictions on Soviet-era symbols, which Moscow associated with the "victory over Nazism." This requirement effectively sought the reversal of Ukraine's decommunization policies.

Furthermore, Russia insisted on the lifting of all sanctions against it—both Ukrainian and international—and the dismissal of all international legal cases initiated since 2014.