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Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Since the beginning of the conflict, the two warring countries have established several lines of communication…
The launch of Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine in February 2022 marked a breakdown in communications at the highest levels between Kiev and Moscow.
However, as the Kyiv Independent reports, the two enemies have managed to establish more or less official contacts in recent years, through officials, oligarchs, spies, and humanitarian workers.
The first channel of communication between Ukraine and Russia was opened in the early hours of the conflict, partly thanks to the initiative of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. The contacts established subsequently led to unsuccessful talks between the two sides in Belarus and Turkey.
In March 2022, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian Presidential Office, described Abramovich as an "extremely effective mediator" who "partially moderated the process."
Also at the time, the Wall Street Journal reported that President Zelensky had asked Washington not to sanction the oligarch so as not to disrupt his mediation.
Despite the failure of diplomatic efforts promoted through this channel, that same year Abramovich was reportedly involved in the grain deal that reopened Ukrainian Black Sea ports and was signed in Istanbul.
Starting in 2023, the oligarch's mediation has shifted towards humanitarian issues rather than political negotiations, but this year, on the eve of the first round of direct talks between Kiev and Moscow, his presence was reported in the Kremlin.
There, Abramovich reportedly met with Putin, reports Kyiv Independent , under the "cover" of a meeting of the boards of directors of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters.
A second, more direct communication channel, uninterrupted since the beginning of the conflict, was reportedly set up by Ukrainian military intelligence to facilitate prisoner-of-war exchanges. The connection was established in the first weeks of the occupation by Kiev officer Dmytro Usov, who used the phone of a dead Russian soldier to call his commander.
The person who answered the line was Alexander Zorin, a senior official in Moscow's military intelligence and a veteran of the Russian Federation's operation during the Syrian civil war. This improvised communication later evolved into a more structured, expanded form thanks to the help of Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
Another channel between officials from the two warring countries was established in 2025, in parallel with the diplomatic acceleration initiated by the White House and through American mediation.
On May 16, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations met, for the first time, directly in Istanbul. Representing Moscow as chief negotiator was Vladimir Medinsky, Putin's aide, while the Ukrainian team was represented by then-Defense Minister Umerov.
Umerov reportedly had numerous telephone conversations with his Russian counterpart, and Zorin, the Federation's 007 officer, also participated in the live discussions.
This channel, considered unbalanced by Kiev, which claims that Medinsky does not have the same authority as Umerov, has not produced any political breakthroughs and it is unclear whether it is still active.
Finally, a last line of contact, which would have worked against Kiev, came to light after the corruption scandal in Ukraine.
According to audio recordings released last month, suspects linked to Ukrainian nuclear monopoly Energoatom had ties to a Russian official and may have transferred funds to Moscow.
Given the existence of various communication channels between the enemies, the Kyiv Independent newspaper wonders why they have not yielded concrete results.
According to Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the Ukrainian parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, this is because the Kremlin is using negotiations as a weapon.
For things to change, explains Ukrainian political expert Ihor Reiterovych, both Ukraine and Russia will need to form teams made up of people, especially those from the military, capable of making decisions and then implementing them.
The participation of Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Kiev's military intelligence, in the November 24 talks with delegations from Washington and Moscow in Abu Dhabi should also be interpreted in this light. /Adapted from Pamphlet/
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