A classified document from an influential Kremlin-linked think tank has advised Vladimir Putin to weaken the US’ negotiating position with the Ukraine peace deal by stoking tensions between America and the rest of the world.
The US is currently acting as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia, with Donald Trump revealing American envoys flying to Moscow ‘right now’ to present a potential ceasefire plan to the Kremlin.
But documents obtained by the Washington Post suggest that Russia has been working to undermine peace since at least February.
While it is not known exactly how much of the document, reportedly written by an influential Moscow-based thinktank the week before the US and Russia began peace talks in Saudi Arabia in late February, was taken to heart by the Russian state, it appears that some measures have already been implemented.
The document, written for the FSB’s Fifth Service, the security service division that oversees operations in Ukraine, lays out ways that Russia could boost its standing by inflaming tensions between the US and both China and the EU.
On February 25, the US twice sided with Russia at UN votes, one at the General assembly where it opposed a European-drafted resolution condemning Moscow’s actions and reaffirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and one at the Security Council where the US drafted and voted for a resolution that called for the end of Russia’s invasion without criticising Russia.
The thinktank document also says that while this is going on, Russia should be working towards ‘the complete dismantling’ of the current Ukrainian government.
Last night, Vladimir Putin’s army said it had captured hundreds of Ukrainian troops fighting in Kursk, with the Russian leader threatening to threat them ‘as terrorists’.
A classified document from an influential Kremlin-linked think tank has advised Vladimir Putin (pictured) to weaken the US’ negotiating position with the Ukraine peace deal
Donald Trump (pictured) said American envoys are flying to Moscow this week to present a potential ceasefire plan to the Kremlin
Ukrainian serviceman of Khartia brigade known by call sign “Krystal” aims the M101 Howitzer towards Russian positions in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, 12 March 2025
Russia’s chief of general staff, Valery Gerasimov, said his forces had captured about 430 Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region, where Ukraine mounted a surprise counteroffensive last summer.
Putin, who donned military fatigues as he visited troops in Kursk, cruelly said in response that the captured Ukrainian troops ought to be ‘treated as terrorists, in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation.’
The Post reported that the document also said the Kremlin ought to reject plans for peacekeepers in Ukraine, as many in Europe have proposed, as they would be under ‘serious Western influence’.
In a bizarre outbrust from Moscow hours after Ukraine’s largest drone attack of the war struck the capital, Sergei Lavrov said: ‘What will the peacekeepers protect? The remnants of the Kyiv Nazi regime?
Meanwhile, US plans to continue arming Ukraine were ‘absolutely unacceptable’, as is maintaining Ukraine’s million-strong army at its current level, according to the document.
It also suggests that Russia ought to push for Ukraine to be carved up even further, with the creation of a buffer zone in the country’s northeast, which touches Russian territory, as well as a demilitarised zone near Crimea, which Vladimir Putin illegally annexed in 2014.
The document dismissed Trump’s preliminary plans for a Ukraine peace deal to be reached within 100 days as ‘impossible to realise’, and suggested that peace ‘cannot happen before 2026.’
Ukrainian serviceman of Khartia brigade known by call sign “Krystal” fires M101 Howitzer towards Russian positions in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Iryna Petrochenko , 50, looks out from damaged apartment after a Russian missile attack happened killing a 47 year old woman and wounding nine others on March 12, 2025 in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine
The thinktank wrote that Russia could boost its negotiating position by proposing American companies being allowed to develop rare earth minerals in Russia and in Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine.
The document was written in the week before Russia and the US sat down in Saudi Arabia for key talks that Ukraine was not party to.
Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida as the February talks went on, Donald Trump mocked Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky for complaining that Ukraine was being frozen out.
Trump said: ‘Today I heard, ‘Oh, we weren’t invited’. Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should have ended it three years [ago] – you should have never started it. You could have made a deal.’
But according to Kremlin sources, the Russian President is the one wants to drag out the peace process so he can seize more Ukrainian territory.
Russia holds the upper hand militarily with its troops outnumbering their Western-backed adversaries and making deepening inroads into eastern Ukraine.
The Russian president believes the 30-day pause is ‘unacceptable’, and is expected to hinder peace talks with his own unreasonable demands.
Given that Putin holds a majority of the cards, Russian officials believe he will be able to succeed in this endeavour.
A senior Russian source told Reuters: ‘It is difficult for Putin to agree to this in its current form.
Ukrainian serviceman of Khartia brigade known by call sign “Krystal” check M101 Howitzer after firing towards Russian positions in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Ukrainian sappers help dress a comrade in a heavy armored suit during demining operations in the Kharkiv area, northeastern Ukraine, 12 March 2025
A Ukrainian sapper in special shoes walks during demining operations in the Kharkiv area, northeastern Ukraine, 12 March 2025
‘Putin has a strong position because Russian is advancing’, they added.
Last night, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was important not to ‘get [too far] ahead’ regarding Russia’s response to ceasefire proposals.
He claimed Moscow was awaiting ‘detailed information’ about the ceasefire from the US, which had to be studied before a decision could be taken.
One of Putin’s demands is likely to be a halt for future military support for Kyiv, Bloomberg reported.
When asked what the U.S. could do to pressure Russia into peace, he said: ‘There are things that wouldn’t be pleasant in a financial sense. I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace.’
Trump added: ‘In a financial sense, yes, we could do things that would be very bad for Russia, that would be devastating for Russia. But I don’t want to do that.’
Europe is also exerting pressure on the Kremlin to accept the deal.
Speaking in Paris last night, following a meeting with European counterparts, the UK’s Defence Secretary sent a powerful message to Vladimir Putin saying it was ‘Over to you now’.
John Healey MP called on the Kremlin chief to ‘accept the ceasefire, start negotiations and end the war. Make no mistake, the pressure is now on Putin..’
He added: ‘This year the UK will spend £4.5 billion the highest ever. While the United Kingdom and France are driving the push for peace and the arrangements for security guarantees for Ukraine.
‘We are cooperating closely with partner nations from Europe and beyond and from today we are accelerating that work. Yesterday, military chiefs from 34 nations met here in Paris in meetings which were attended for more than an hour by President Macron.
‘While the UK’s Prime Minister will host another meeting on Saturday while military chiefs will resume their discussions next week.’
