Without NATO: WSJ got acquainted with the draft of peace between Ukraine and Russia in 2022

There were no prohibitions on accession to the EU, but the Russians demanded to reduce the numbers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to 85 thousand soldiers, 343 tanks and 519 artillery systems. The Wall Street Journal got acquainted with the draft agreement, which contains the conditions of peace between Ukraine and Russia after the corresponding negotiations in April 2022. The relevant material was published on March 1.

The project, developed shortly after the invasion of the Russian Federation, shows the level of requirements of the invaders. The 17 pages presented document stated that the Russian authorities demanded to reduce the number of Armed Forces to 85 thousand soldiers, 343 tanks and 519 artillery systems. The occupiers were demanded to be introduced in state bodies and courts. At the same time, Kiev insisted on 250 thousand servicemen in the Armed Forces, 800 tanks and 1900 artillery tools.

The ban on Ukraine to join NATO and receive foreign weapons is one of the main requirements. No prohibitions were discussed regarding EU accession. Russia also sought to maintain the territory of Crimea. Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin had to be discussed personally by the DNR and LNR. The Kremlin demanded that, in the event of a violation of the neutrality of Ukraine, Russia itself, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and China itself were defended.

The Russian authorities also asked to abolish mutual sanctions, but Ukraine has refused this requirement. As security guarantees, Kyiv also demanded to include an item on the closure of the airspace in case of attack on the country. The peaceful negotiations of the Ukrainian delegations lasted until June 2022. In the end, the agreement was not signed when the extent of Russian military crimes in Ukraine was revealed after the release of the Kyiv region.