Withdrawal of AFU from Donbas would "open prospects" for ending hostilities – Kremlin

Russia claims that the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the whole of Donbas would "open prospects" for ending hostilities.

As reported by Censor.NET, the statement by Putin aide Yuri Ushakov was quoted by the Russian outlet Interfax.

Russia’s demand

"If Zelenskyy were to decide to withdraw troops from Donbas, and we then verified that he had withdrawn the troops, then prospects would, of course, open up for resolving many issues, including the issue of ending hostilities," Ushakov claims.

Background

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Reuters that the United States had linked its proposal on security guarantees to the condition that Kyiv cede the whole of Donbas to Russia.
At the same time, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called false President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s claim that Washington was ready to provide security guarantees in exchange for the withdrawal of the AFU from Donbas.
The day before, Russia also said that Ukraine had to withdraw its troops from the parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions still under its control "as early as today."