Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine provided some hint of progress yesterday, even as an imminent end to the suffering remained elusive. Ukrainian officials said the country was ready to declare itself permanently neutral and forsake the prospect of joining NATO.
It was also willing to discuss Russia’s territorial claims in exchange for “security guarantees” from a group of other nations. More talks are expected to follow.
Russia said it would “drastically” scale back its military activity around Kyiv to “increase mutual trust.” But it appears determined to capture more territory in eastern Ukraine, where Russia has installed two separatist statelets that Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has recognized as independent but that no other nation has formally acknowledged.
Western officials and security analysts cautioned against taking at face value Moscow’s statements about its aim in Kyiv or elsewhere.
The war has cost Ukraine $564.9 billion in damages and lost economic activity — roughly three times its prewar gross domestic product. There are as yet no reliable estimates of civilian casualties in Ukraine, and about four million people have fled the country, along with about six million who are internally displaced.
The Times’s Carlotta Gall covered the rebellion in Chechnya nearly 30 years ago. In Kyiv, she sees echoes of Russia’s brutal siege tactics and targeting of civilians. TNYT
