Russian State Media Downplays U.S.-Led Efforts for Ukraine Peace Accord

Pro-Kremlin outlets presented a subdued response to the renewed American efforts aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine on Wednesday. The Kremlin acknowledged that it had reviewed the new peace proposal from the White House but refrained from offering much interpretation of its stance.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would send representatives to engage with both Russian and Ukrainian officials in hopes of solidifying a deal, following reports that Kyiv had tentatively agreed to a modified peace framework that addressed more of its concerns.

While the U.S. peace initiative and the diplomatic efforts related to it have garnered significant global attention, major Russian state television channels opted to kick off their Wednesday newscasts focusing on President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Kyrgyzstan and his discussions with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov.

State broadcaster Rossia 24 only brought up the possibility of resuming peace talks nearly 13 minutes into its afternoon news segment. Even then, the discussion was interrupted by a live broadcast from Russia’s Young Scientists Congress.

A presenter on Rossia 24 remarked that “Europe is complicating” the peace negotiations, referencing European criticism regarding the U.S. original 28-point plan, which was perceived as favoring Moscow.

Additionally, another correspondent from Rossia 24 implied that the recent leak of phone conversations involving Ushakov and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, along with Kremlin economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev, appeared to be aimed at undermining the discussions.

“The recording surfaced just as the peace plan was beginning to take shape, suggesting that politicians in London and Brussels are attempting to sabotage the Moscow-Washington rapprochement and hinder peace,” the correspondent noted, citing analysts.

This sentiment mirrored Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s assertion that the leaks were a strategy to “undermine the currently limited progress toward a resolution through negotiations.”

Meanwhile, Russian officials exhibited little willingness to moderate their previous stringent conditions for concluding the war.

Regarding the amended peace proposal, Yury Ushakov, the Kremlin’s foreign policy aide, conveyed that while Moscow viewed certain aspects favorably, numerous elements necessitated detailed discussions among experts.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov adopted a more uncompromising tone, stating that although Russia appreciated Washington’s renewed efforts to foster peace talks, “there could be no concessions or deviation” from Russia’s war objectives.

“Different iterations of this proposal serve as bargaining chips. Any notion of compromises or abandonment of our fundamental positions on key issues related to our aims is unacceptable,” Ryabkov declared on Wednesday.

State-run Channel One also relegated information about progress in the peace talks to the 10th minute of its broadcast.

The presenter indicated that “Washington believes time is evidently not on Kyiv’s side” and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is unlikely to visit Washington in the near future.

On Tuesday, Channel One highlighted Peskov’s characterization of the scenario surrounding the U.S. peace proposal as an “information bacchanalia.”

The Channel One host remarked that the “avalanche of disinformation” stemmed, in part, from the “hysteria of Europe’s warmongers,” who, while excluded from the negotiations, were doing everything possible to obstruct the plan, while adding that “Moscow sees the American proposal as a potentially solid foundation for diplomatic discussions.”

The business daily Kommersant featured the leaked phone conversations involving Ushakov, Witkoff, and Dmitriev under the headline “Who Framed Steve Witkoff?” prominently on its homepage on Wednesday.

Pro-Kremlin publication Moskovsky Komsomolets ran an op-ed that criticized Zelensky, asserting that he “became so engrossed in his ambitions that he started imposing conditions.”

“The Kyiv leader was willing to meet Trump if European leaders were also in attendance at that meeting. The intention is abundantly clear, making it unnecessary to decode it in detail: they intended to sway the American president by presenting another round of ‘I am very, very disappointed in Putin!’ However, yielding to one’s expectations is not always wise,” the article stated.

“The resolution is approaching. Yet whether it will be a genuine conclusion or the start of a new cycle remains cloaked in uncertainty,” it concluded.