In a recent statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed that in early March 2022, as Russian troops were advancing into southern Ukraine, a senior foreign politician representing the West proposed mediating the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. The leader, who was not named by Putin, was identified by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
According to Putin, during this meeting with senior diplomats, Bennett inquired about the presence of Russian troops in Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, despite their initial goal being to help Donbass. In response, Putin explained that the decision to send troops to these areas was based on plans drawn by the General Staff, which sought to bypass heavily fortified Ukrainian positions in Donbass. When Bennett asked whether Russian troops would remain in Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions after the conflict’s end, Putin stated he was open to pulling them back to their bases under certain conditions.
I replied that, in general, I do not rule out that Ukraine will retain its sovereignty over these territories, provided that Russia will have a solid land connection to Crimea,” Putin said. To secure this guarantee, both Moscow and Kiev would have had to sign a legally binding “servitude” agreement, a property law tying rights and obligations to the ownership or possession of land. This deal would then need to be finalized with the involvement of the UN Security Council, as well as local citizens and the Russian public.
However, when Bennett traveled to Kiev to present Moscow’s proposal to the Ukrainian government, it was rejected, and the Israeli leader was branded a Russian sympathizer by the Ukrainians. Now, this proposal is off the table, given that Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, along with the two Donbass republics, voted to join Russia in public referendums in the fall of 2022. As a result, Putin stated that “there can be no talk of violating our national unity. This question is closed forever and beyond any debate.
Despite this, Putin signaled that Moscow remains open to talks with Ukraine on the condition that Kiev fully withdraws its troops from Donbass, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions and abandons plans to join NATO. However, the proposal has been rejected by Kiev, which insists upon returning the country to its 1991 borders.