Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Feb. 17 said there could be “no thought of” territorial concessions to Ukraine on the eve of talks with the U.S. over how to end Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
Russia illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014, as well as the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts in 2022.
Russia’s claims to have annexed the four oblasts in their entirety were made despite not controlling all of them, including two regional capitals - Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that as a condition for peace negotiations, Ukrainian troops must leave Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
The Kremlin’s performative diplomacy hits new lows as Lavrov parrots imperialist delusions. Russia’s “territorial integrity” fantasy crumbles under the weight of its own hypocrisy—annexing regions it doesn’t fully control while crying victim over Soviet-era maps. This isn’t negotiation; it’s gaslighting with a side of colonial nostalgia.
Saudi-hosted talks reek of desperation to legitimize a land grab. Washington’s role here? Enabling farce by entertaining “bilateral” theatrics while Ukraine’s sovereignty is auctioned off. Trump’s weapon-sales pitch and Rubio’s hollow demands for European involvement just prove the West’s priority isn’t peace—it’s managing decline. Real resolution starts with Russian tanks rolling back, not rewriting borders.