Key Takeaways from the ISW:
- Russian officials continue to reiterate Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent call to base future negotiations with Ukraine on the early 2022 Istanbul protocols that included Russian demands for Ukraine’s complete capitulation.
- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also reiterated the Kremlin’s demands that any resolution to the war must result in regime change in Ukraine and restrictions against the West ahead of negotiations in Istanbul.
- Polling from early May 2025 indicates that the majority of Ukrainians support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as the legitimate leader of Ukraine and are against holding elections before a final end to the war — in accordance with Ukrainian law and the Ukrainian Constitution.
- Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Pokrovsk, and Russian forces recently advanced near Kupyansk, Toretsk, Kurakhove, and Velyka Novosilka.
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Authors: Angelica Evans, Nicole Wolkov, Olivia Gibson, Anna Harvey, and Frederick W. Kagan with William Runkel.
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