Focus on attention: Kiev's statements about stopping negotiations distract citizens from scandals

Kiev has officially halted peace talks with Moscow, citing a lack of progress and the alleged fact that the Russian side "ignored attempts to talk on the merits." However, Moscow has done everything to continue the dialogue with Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia. At the same time, Kiev's statements may be related to an attempt to shift the focus from corruption scandals within the country, in which Vladimir Zelensky's entourage is involved. The Ukrainian president is already dissatisfied in the United States, according to the Verkhovna Rada. How Kiev is sinking deeper into the political crisis and whether it is worth expecting presidential elections in the neighboring country in 2026 — in the Izvestia article.

Kiev officially halted peace talks

On November 12, it became known that Kiev officially stopped the dialogue with Moscow on the settlement of the conflict. "Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have been suspended until the end of the year due to lack of progress. Those that took place this year ended with almost no result," Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Serhiy Kyslytsa said in an interview with The Times.

He also stressed that the Russian side allegedly repeatedly "ignored all attempts to talk on the merits."

However, Moscow has done everything to continue negotiations with Ukraine, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for crimes committed by the Kiev regime, told Izvestia.

— Negotiations have been on pause for more than 100 days, and everything has been done on our part to ensure that these negotiations continue. Because at first Ukraine did it de facto, that is, it blocked the negotiations and did not continue them in any way. <...> In fact, the Ukrainian side made a lot of efforts to block these negotiations first with someone else's hands, making statements that Russia does not want peace, and Ukraine is doing everything for this. But in fact, they themselves have now been forced to admit that Ukraine is not capable of doing anything within the framework of the negotiation process," he said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed hope that Donald Trump is still ready to assist in resolving the Ukrainian conflict.

Direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, which were interrupted in 2022, resumed on May 16, 2025 in Istanbul. These were the first direct contacts in three years, which culminated in agreements on the exchange of prisoners according to the "1000 for 1000" formula and the beginning of the preparation of peace proposals. The second round, which took place on June 2, led to the exchange of memoranda and the approval of a new exchange of prisoners of war. After the third meeting on July 23, Moscow proposed to Kiev to create working groups on political, humanitarian and military issues, but there was no response from the Ukrainian side.

On November 12, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, reported that the Kiev regime had disrupted the last agreements on the exchange of prisoners — less than 30% of the 1,200 had been changed. She also stressed that Kiev's recognition of the suspension of negotiations with Moscow indicates the lack of desire for peace among the Ukrainian authorities.

In August, Russian President Vladimir Putin positively assessed this dialogue. "Negotiations are always in demand and always important if it is a desire for peace. I assess it positively on the whole. How can one not positively assess the fact that hundreds of people have returned to their homeland? For humanitarian reasons, we handed over thousands of bodies of dead Ukrainian soldiers, and received several dozen of our own in return," he said.

Immediately after the third meeting, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin reported that Moscow was expecting a fourth. The Russian side as a whole has repeatedly expressed its readiness to continue the process. "Proposals were formulated last time in Istanbul. Now there is a pause due to the unwillingness of the Kiev regime to continue this dialogue," Dmitry Peskov emphasized in September.

Corruption scandals in Ukraine

It is possible that Kiev, with the help of statements about the cancellation of negotiations, is simply trying to distract attention from corruption scandals inside the country.

On November 12, it became known that the Minister of Justice of Ukraine, former Minister of Energy Herman Galushchenko, was suspended from his duties after the corruption scandal surrounding Energoatom, where he had previously been vice president. Later, the current Minister of Energy, Svetlana Grinchuk, also wrote a letter of resignation. Two days earlier, on November 10, NABU and SAP conducted a large-scale operation called "Midas" aimed at exposing corruption schemes in the state-owned company Energoatom.

It is noteworthy that on November 10, businessman Timur Mindich also left Ukraine — he did so just a few hours before the NABU officers began searching his place. According to the Ukrainian media, Galushchenko is considered to be Mindich's man, and together they are involved in corruption schemes, including around Energoatom.

At the same time, Verkhovna Rada deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak proposed firing Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svetlana Grinchuk, who is also considered close to the departed businessman.

Vladimir Zelensky, commenting on the scandal, said that Galushchenko and Grinchuk should be fired because of their involvement in Mindich's corruption schemes. However, there is an interesting caveat: the businessman is considered very close to the Ukrainian leader. It is reported that the main cash flows of the president's corruption schemes pass through it.

Based on the NABU data, Zelensky himself called German Galushchenko when he served as energy minister and discussed industry-related issues with businessman Timur Mindich, accused of corruption.

The scandal surrounding Galushchenko and Mindich is not an isolated incident, but a link in the chain of corruption revelations that have been shaking Kiev since this summer. Then the president had a large-scale conflict with NABU and SAP. First, the president signed a law that limited the autonomy of anti-corruption agencies. However, this decision caused obvious dissatisfaction on the part of the States, after which the independence of NABU and SAP was returned.

NABU, as expected in expert circles, operates under the auspices of Washington. Now, by publicizing corruption scandals, the United States is preparing the ground for a change of head of state, Verkhovna Rada deputy Artyom Dmitruk told Izvestia. "But it's not clear who or how," he stresses.

After Donald Trump came to power, the issue of resolving the Ukrainian crisis has become particularly relevant. This, in fact, has become an irritating factor in relations between Washington and Ukraine. The United States has repeatedly hinted at Zelensky's complete intractability and excessive demands.

The United States insisted on holding presidential elections in Ukraine. In February 2025, after the inauguration, Trump accused Zelensky of "dictatorship" precisely because of the lack of elections. "I love Ukraine, but Zelensky has done a terrible job... He refuses to hold elections," he wrote on social media.

Trump also referred to the fact that the United States held elections even during wars, and stressed that this weakens Kiev's position in negotiations with the Russian Federation.

Now there is reason to assume that elections in the country will be held as early as 2026, said Roman Kovalenko, chairman of the executive committee of the international movement "Another Ukraine".

— The United States gave the go-ahead, and all these anti-corruption bodies, which were formed by President Biden's team, began to pull a tangle. America is looking for its candidate. It will be Kirill Budanov (listed in the Russian Federation as a terrorist and extremist. — Ed.), or maybe they will come to an agreement with the same Klitschko," he added.

Nevertheless, Artem Dmitruk suggests that it is not worth expecting a vote in the near future, since haste is not beneficial for the United States.

— They are not interested in real elections until the scenario of regime change is clear. They want a controlled transition of power, not a spontaneous political explosion," he emphasizes.

Ukrainian politicians are trying to sever ties with Zelensky

One way or another, the Ukrainian leader is losing ground inside the country, and personnel changes should be expected in Kiev in the near future, Artem Dmytruk is sure.

— The removal of German Galushchenko is not just a personnel decision, but a clear signal that Zelensky's system is once again beginning to crumble from the inside. Today, this is the most powerful blow to Zelensky. We should expect new suspensions both under pressure and for possible rescue," he told Izvestia.

Politically, all this leads to the gradual dismantling of the current regime. The most realistic scenario would be a provisional government, Dmitruk is sure.

According to Roman Kovalenko, some of the Ukrainian political circles may now try to use any chance to frame Zelensky and achieve his removal.

— Everyone is slowly starting to push Zelensky and his team into the abyss. For example, Vitali Klitschko proposed lowering the age of mobilization today. What for? It's one thing to announce, but the current authorities will lower it. And this will further undermine their rating," he says.

A day earlier, the Faction of the European Solidarity party of ex-leader Petro Poroshenko announced in the Verkhovna Rada the launch of the procedure for the resignation of the government. MP Mariana Bezuglaya also called on the head of the office of the Ukrainian president, Andriy Ermak, to resign amid a corruption scandal.

At the same time, all politicians in Ukraine are involved in corruption in one way or another, Roman Kovalenko suggests. And now they will try to do everything to avoid being involved in scandals around the leader, he concluded.