Putin eyes removal of Zelenskyy amid Russia-Ukraine peace talks

Global Watch | 2026-02-17

Moscow's fixation on regime change undermines peace talks and signals threats to its neighbors.

Russia and Ukraine in early February resumed direct negotiations in Abu Dhabi, sparking cautious optimism for a resolution to the conflict.

This resumption aligns with broader diplomatic efforts in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), including a US-Russia summit where the nuclear superpowers agreed to revive high-level military talks amid the tense Ukraine negotiations.

Russia and Ukraine are now set to hold US-brokered talks on February 17-18 in Geneva, both countries said February 13, announcing the next leg in fraught negotiations seeking to end the four-year war.

Moscow has stuck to its demands in the talks for sweeping territorial and political concessions from Ukraine -- rejected by Kyiv as tantamount to capitulation.

Russia is pushing for Ukraine to pull out of the eastern Donetsk region -- around one-fifth of which Kyiv's forces still control.

Ukraine has rejected a unilateral pull-back and wants robust Western security guarantees to deter Russia from re-launching its offensive following any ceasefire.

Yet, while territorial disputes over parts of the Donbas dominate the headlines, Moscow's unspoken condition for ending the war remains clear: the removal of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from power, say experts.

This demand is not explicitly stated in draft agreements but is fundamental to the Kremlin's strategy.

Asserting control

For Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy's resignation is not just a personal vendetta -- it is a calculated move to assert control over Ukraine's sovereignty and send a chilling message to neighboring countries.

The negotiations in Abu Dhabi have focused on the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk area of the Donbas, with Russia demanding that Ukraine withdraw from the territory still contested.

Ukraine has refused, stating it will only discuss occupied areas.

Beyond territory, Russia is also seeking regime change in Ukraine, analyst Vladislav Gorin wrote for Carnegie Politika on February 7.

Putin has long labeled Ukraine's leadership a "criminal gang" and "neo-Nazi regime," rhetoric that reflects the Kremlin's goals of undermining Ukraine's sovereignty and reasserting post-Soviet influence.

Putin's disdain was evident in proposing Zelenskyy visit Russia for talks -- a humiliating idea Kyiv rejected.

"The removal of Zelensky and his people from power is a non-negotiable condition for the Kremlin, even if it gets Sloviansk and Kramatorsk," Gorin wrote.

"Insisting on Zelensky’s resignation is not just a personal vendetta, but a clear signal that the Kremlin would like to send to all the leaders of all of Russia’s neighbors: even if you manage to put up some resistance, you will ultimately pay the price (including on a personal level)," he added.

Seeking regime change "is a question of Putin's external and internal political prestige -- as well as an opportunity to exert control over the sovereignty of Ukraine, which was the original goal of the war," Gorin noted.