Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv proposes February peace summit

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Kyiv wants a peace summit to end the war. However, Kuleba said that it is unlikely that Russia will want to participate.

Kuleba told the Associated Press that the Ukrainian government wants a “peace summit” to take place in two months at the United Nations, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres serving as the mediator in the summit. Kuleba said the UN would be the most appropriate body to host a peace summit.

The UN has since responded to Kuleba’s proposal, with its associate spokeswoman reiterating that Guterres will mediate if both sides want him to mediate.

Ukraine’s top diplomat said Russia must face a war crimes tribunal before the two countries can directly engage. However, Kuleba said that other countries should feel free to engage with Russia, citing the grain agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey.

Kuleba also said he was “absolutely satisfied” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the United States last week. Kuleba revealed that Washington has come up with a plan to get the Patriot battery system ready and operational on the ground in Ukraine in less than six months. Training to use the Patriot system usually takes a year.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry will do whatever is possible to win the war in 2023, according to Kuleba.

Kuleba’s proposal comes at a time when his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov warned that Ukraine either cedes its Russian-occupied territories or the Russian army will decide Ukraine’s fate.

The proposal also follows Zelenskyy’s presentation to the G20 summit in Bali this year, detailing a 10-point peace plan that includes the restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian forces, the release of prisoners, a tribunal to hold people responsible for aggression accountable, as well as security guarantees for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, in the British defense ministry’s intelligence bulletin on Wednesday, Russia’s Kremina sector in the frontline at Luhansk was likely reinforced amidst the offensive by Ukrainian forces. The ministry noted that the Kremina unit is “relatively vulnerable” as Ukraine advanced through Lyman back in October.

“Russia has constructed extensive new defenses in the area and will likely prioritize holding the line here. The area is logistically important for Russia’s Donbas front and it is also a significant town in Luhansk Oblast. The Kremlin claims that the ‘liberation’ of this area is a core justification for the war,” said the ministry.