Kremlin: Agreed with Washington to resume contacts on a humanitarian operation in Kostiantynivka

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov announced that Russia and the United States have agreed to resume contacts related to the implementation of a humanitarian operation in the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, along the lines of the operation that took place in the city of Oleshky in the Kherson region last month.

This came during a press briefing given by Ushakov in Moscow, commenting on President Vladimir Putin's meeting with the two American special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Ushakov described the meeting as "comprehensive, constructive and useful," noting that the American negotiators expressed their support for the new operation. He added: "We are ready to begin demining immediately."

Ushakov indicated that Putin announced his support for an American initiative aimed at addressing the security files concerning Russia and Ukraine within the framework of a post-war European security system. He said that Ushakov made clear that "the existing system does not work, and that is clear," looking forward to the support of European representatives in setting standards for a new and long-term system based on indivisible security and peace, affirming Russia's readiness to begin work with the American representatives immediately.

Regarding the prisoner exchange file, Ushakov reported that Russia and Ukraine have carried out 35 exchange operations since 2022, under which about five thousand people from both sides were released. He noted that the parties to the trilateral Abu Dhabi negotiations agreed to continue the negotiation track, and that the transactions related to the largest exchange deal discussed in Abu Dhabi are moving toward consensus.

The aide revealed that the files on the table will be discussed between Putin and Trump at the APEC summit in the city of Shenzhen in China's Guangdong province. He indicated that Witkoff and Kushner will meet in Dublin with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European representatives, expressing his hope that "Moscow's signals will be conveyed to them fully and accurately."

Ushakov affirmed that Kyiv does not want to end the war, explaining this by saying that peace would require holding elections "no one wants to lose power in." He also voiced explicit objection to European proposals to deploy forces from the "coalition of the willing" on Ukrainian territory after any ceasefire, describing them as "a recipe for an endless war."