Law students and young lawyers in Ukraine are filing dispatches for JURIST on the latest developments in that country as it defends itself against Russian invasion. Here, Illia Fedin, a lawyer based in Kharkiv, comments on the peace/ceasefire talks between Ukraine and Russia. The text has only been lightly edited to respect the author’s voice.

While Ukrainian superheroes have continued to fight against vicious Russian troops for more than a month, the country’s political leadership is trying to find a path to stop the battles as soon as possible. This path lately led them to Istanbul, Turkey, where negotiations between Ukraine and Russia’s representatives took place on March 29.

But “negotiations” are absolutely not the right word for what is going on. Just think about how the criminal law of Europe, the US or other western countries would characterize one person trying to force another person to give him a part of their property, while simultaneously putting gun to their head. This would definitely not be “negotiations”. But that’s what we have here.

Yet it seems that both sides have declared some progress. That’s a good signal, but it’s deceptive. The acts of Russia say more than their words. We can’t see the commitment of Russia to the peace-talking process. Military methods are still a priority, because the shelling of Ukrainian cities and villages continues.

The Ukrainian side shows readiness to discuss sensitive matters like the Crimea question and neutrality status. The population of Ukraine also mainly supports what the government is saying in the negotiations. That’s a massive point for our country, and that support can be decisive in this war (by the way, Ukrainians take offense when the war is called a “conflict” or “crisis” or something else; the war is a war, and other names are just a part of Russian propaganda/disinformation).

We can also see constructive compromises from Ukraine. Further talking can be continued when Russian troops are located where they were on February 23. This means that Crimea and the occupied part of Donbas are still controlled by Russia. Unpleasant, but this positio is necessary to stop the battles. Neutrality status is not a problem right now, but Ukraine is searching for gurantees (and guarantors) of non-aggression by Russia. The ball is on the side of the European and American partners. Can they be participants in a possible peace treaty?

Finally, we have to admit that these peace talks resulted from Ukrainian soldiers’ bravery and coordinated acts of our Western partners. These components can provide a winnable situation for Ukraine, both in the peace-talking process and on the battlefield. So let’s bring the victory of justice over tyranny closer.

Correspondent’s note: This text was written before the withdrawal of Russian occupiers from the Kyiv region and pictures from Bucha. So it might not fully apply now. At the same time, on April 4, V. Zelenskyy visited Bucha and saw with his own eyes the inhuman crimes committed by the Russians there. Answering journalists’ questions about the possibility of continued peace talks with Russia, Zelenskyy said: “Yes, because Ukraine has to be at peace. We are in the Europe of the XXI century. We will continue making diplomatic and military efforts.“