ISW: Russia will unlikely agree to peace deal that does not give it control over Ukraine

According to Ukrinform, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said this in a new report.

"The Kremlin has consistently indicated that it will reject any peace deals that offer reliable security guarantees for Ukraine, and is highly unlikely to accept a settlement that contains any provisions safeguarding Ukrainian territorial integrity," the report reads.

ISW reached these conclusions after analyzing a new round of intensive negotiations between Ukraine, the United States, and European leaders held in Berlin on December 15.

According to ISW analysts, the Kremlin notably effectively rejected the provision of reliable security guarantees for Ukraine as outlined in the U.S.-proposed 28-point peace plan.

In addition, Russia has previously attempted to secure untenable territorial concessions from Ukraine that include Ukraine's Fortress Belt, the fortified defensive line in the Donetsk region that has served as the backbone of Ukraine's defenses since 2014.

"Ukraine's concession of its most valuable defense line into the hands of the Kremlin would provide Russia with more advantageous positions to renew aggression against southwestern and central Ukraine in the future," the report reads.

The ISW continues to assess that Russia will use political and military means to achieve its stated goal of seizing all of Ukraine and that Russia "is therefore unlikely to accept a peace deal or security guarantees that do not grant full Russian control of Ukraine in the intermediate to long term future."

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