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16. September 2026

Dr. Iulian Romanyshyn in FOCUS on the illusion of Russia's willingness to negotiate Dr. Iulian Romanyshyn in FOCUS on the illusion of Russia's willingness to negotiate

In an article in FOCUS, Dr. Iulian Romanyshyn dismisses the notion—currently being put forward by some observers—that Russia is now willing to negotiate regarding the war in Ukraine. He describes the hope that a new window of opportunity for negotiations might open after the Russian State Duma elections as nothing more than wishful thinking.

Iulian Romanyshyn ordnete im FOCUS die Bereitschaft Russlands zu Verhandlungen nach den Duma-Wahlen ein
Iulian Romanyshyn ordnete im FOCUS die Bereitschaft Russlands zu Verhandlungen nach den Duma-Wahlen ein © Pixabay
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In the FOCUS article “This Winter, Putin Will Try to Break Ukraine,” published on September 15, 2026, Dr. Iulian Romanyshyn analyzed how Russia is deliberately using the Russian legislative elections on September 20, 2026, to delay negotiations.

Russia’s calculation, he argued, is to prevent a further escalation of sanctions pressure. According to Romanyshyn, signals from Russia that it intends to wait out the elections could contribute to such a delay. However, he considers it wishful thinking that Russia would subsequently be genuinely prepared for serious peace negotiations. Important foreign policy decisions are made independently of the Duma, Romanyshyn noted.

You can read the entire article with Dr. Iulian Romanyshyn's remarks here.

Dr. Iulian Romanyshyn is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic, and Integration Studies
and an adjunct instructor in the Master of Arts program in “Strategy and International Security”.