Russia Says Ukraine's Attack on Putin's Residence Led to Hardened Negotiating Stance

Russia claimed that it hardened its stance on negotiations late last year after Ukraine attacked Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence.

On the 13th (local time), rescuers are passing by a vehicle destroyed in a Russian drone strike in Odesa, Ukraine. Reuters and Yonhap News Agency

In an interview with TASS news agency on the 15th (local time), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said, "I can confirm that there has been a change in our negotiating position," without specifying what exactly had changed.

Deputy Foreign Minister Galuzin explained, "Our toughened stance was conveyed to the participants in the talks of the Russia-United States-Ukraine trilateral working group on security issues, which were held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from the 4th to the 5th of this month."

Russia announced that on December 29 last year, Ukraine attacked President Putin's residence in Novgorod Oblast with drones. Russia also released related footage, but Ukraine denied that any such attack had taken place. The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. security officials also assessed Russia's claims as lacking credibility.

Galuzin said, "Our retaliatory measures did not take long. Military facilities in western Ukraine suffered severe damage." On the 9th of last month, Russia launched a large-scale retaliatory strike on key Ukrainian facilities using Oreshnik missiles and other weapons.

He refrained from commenting on the progress of the negotiations, saying that during the talks held in Abu Dhabi on the 23rd to 24th of last month and on the 4th to 5th of this month, Russia, the United States, and Ukraine agreed to work quietly and not leak details of their discussions.

Deputy Foreign Minister Galuzin is scheduled to participate as one of the Russian representatives in the third trilateral meeting to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 17th to 18th. He said that once the conflict ends, it would be possible to discuss establishing an external governing body in Ukraine.

He added, "The idea of introducing external governance in Ukraine with United Nations support after the completion of the special military operation is not new," and continued, "There is precedent for this within the framework of peacekeeping activities by international organizations, and Russia is ready to discuss this with the United States, Europe, and other countries."

President Putin also stated in March last year that "a provisional government could be established in Ukraine with the support of the United Nations, the United States, European countries, and our partners." This was analyzed as an attempt to pressure Ukraine to exclude President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has remained in office beyond his original term under martial law, from any peace agreement.