Coverage of the conflict in Ukraine over the past week has been dominated by the significance of Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.

The Republican will take over the White House in January after promising during his campaign to end the war within 24 hours of becoming president.

His statements surrounding Ukraine — and his so-called “America First” approach to foreign policy — have led many commentators to suggest he will withdraw support for the country in its fight to repel invading Russian forces.

But experts at the Institute for the Study of War say indications are that the Kremlin is now trying to dictate the terms of any potential “peace” talks with Ukraine ahead of Trump’s inauguration.

“The way the Kremlin is trying to set its terms for negotiations strongly signals that Russia’s goals remain unchanged and still amounts to a full surrender of Ukraine,” the group’s analysts said.

“The Kremlin appears no more willing to make concessions to the incoming Trump administration than it has been to the current administration.”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s claims yesterday that “peace” can only be achieved when the West stops providing military assistance to Ukraine are said to indicate that Russia is continuing to say that the West must end to all provisions of military assistance to Ukraine as a precondition for peace. negotiations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also claimed yesterday that the start of Trump’s presidency would not fundamentally change the US position on Ukraine and that any proposed freeze on the front was “even worse” than the Russia-friendly Minsk Accords. which followed his first invasion of Ukraine. in 2014.

“Lavrov’s preemptive rejection of the potential suggestion to freeze the current frontline further indicates that Russia is not interested in softening its approach or demands in the negotiations and maintains its goal of a full surrender of Ukraine, which Vladimir Putin has emphasized explicitly in June 2024,” the analysts continue.

“The statements by Zakharova and Lavrov also undermine Putin’s recent efforts to feign interest in wanting to ‘restore’ US-Russia relations with the new US presidential administration and instead indicate that Putin likely considers it goes without saying that the Trump administration will defer to Kremlin interests. and preferences without the Kremlin offering any concessions or benefits in return.”