2026-09-01? unverified
Russia will agree to peace talks only under a reliable peace plan guaranteeing that Ukraine "will never be anti-Russia" and "will never be a battering ram for the West"; Russia's war goals are unchanged, and Western proposals for a pause on the front are merely an attempt to let Ukraine regroup and rearm.
A restatement of Russia's two-year-old "root causes" terms in fresh words, by the Federation Council speaker. What it adds is the reason Moscow gives for refusing every ceasefire: a pause only lets Ukraine "regroup and rearm" — an assertion about Western intent, not a checkable term. Recorded rather than verified.