The Minsk agreement was moribund in 2015 - four years BEFORE Zelensky was elected.
The only reason the Minsk agreements were needed in the first place was because of a Russian supported separatist campaign being waged WITHIN Ukraine.
Russian forces were operating illegally within the Donbas region at least since the start of 2014.
In 2016, OSCE reported Russian forces were present in Donbas and Russia was engaged in "continued and active support of combined separatist-forces in Ukraine". In 2018, the OSCE noted the "clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity by acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces since February 2014" in the region. This was up to the point of observing Russian soldiers who had failed to remove their unit identification patches and identifying armoured vehicles and specalised equipment that had been manufactured in Russia within the past five years and passed to DPR/LPR service.
Let me reiterate that - the conflict in the Donbas was deliberately precipitated by Russia. Russia promised and delivered financial and material support to separatist groups. It then covertly invaded a neighbour in order to provide armed support to those separatist groups.
When those separatist groups failed to make sufficient headway, Russia then opted to move from a quiet invasion to a 'special military operation'.
1.) You will note that foreign minister for Russia Lavrov extended to the US implementation of the Minsk in Oct 2021, the issue could be settled "Quickly" this took place four months before Feb 24th 2022 and the beginning of the conflict
2.) You will closely note that Russian officials insisted that Ukraine's Zelensky negotiate directly with the leadership of the Donetsk and Luhansk people, and Zelensky stated he wasn't going to negotiate with terrorist, Zelensky's words apparently sealed the fate regarding the future conflict that started on Feb 24, 2022
3.) Finnish president on Feb 2022 stated a return to the Minsk is the solution to the problem, move towards significant progress
4.) Russian spokesperson Feb 15, 2022 stated recognizing the Donbas republics wouldn't be in keeping the Minsk agreements, he stated it was Putins plan to implement the agreement
5.) On Feb 22, 2022 Russian President Putin stated the Minsk agreements no longer existed, and on Feb 24, 2024 Russia entered Ukraine
Conclusion: Russia extended the olive branch to the US and Ukraine, four months prior to Feb 24, 2022, the Finnish president endorsed Minsk implementation, the Russian spokesman affirmed this
It appears that when Ukraines president Zelensky stated he wasn't going to negotiate with terrorist in the Donbas is the straw that broke the camels back, and here we are 17 months later, 10's of thousands of lives lost, and $Billions$ spent, with tactical nuclear missiles on high alert in Belarus?
Wikipedia: Minsk Agreements
In October 2021, Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov said that "if the Americans are genuinely prepared to support the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, this issue can be settled very quickly."
[98]
A dispute emerged over the role of the Russian Federation, with the parties understanding Minsk as an agreement between Ukraine and Russia,
[99][100][101][102] but Russian officials claiming the role of mediator, insisted that Ukraine negotiate directly with representatives of the self-proclaimed
separatist republics in
parts of Donetsk and Luhansk.
[103] Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky said he has "no intention of talking to terrorists".
[104] The Russian side refused high-level talks, and the Kremlin endorsed an October 2021
Kommersant article by former Russian president Dmitri Medvedev entitled "Why It Is Senseless to Deal with the Current Ukrainian Leadership",
[105][106] which some have criticized.
[107]
In November 2021, the Russian foreign ministry breached diplomatic protocol by releasing confidential correspondence with negotiators Germany and France.
[108][109]
In December 2021, Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces
Valery Gerasimov said that "Kyiv is not fulfilling the Minsk Agreements. The Ukrainian armed forces are touting that they have started to employ US-supplied Javelin anti-tank missile systems in Donbas and are also using Turkish reconnaissance/strike drones. As a result, the already tense situation in the east of that country is further deteriorating."
[110]
In January 2022,
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's
National Security and Defense Council, said that "The fulfillment of the Minsk agreement means the country’s destruction. When they were signed under the Russian gun barrel — and the German and the French watched — it was already clear for all rational people that it’s impossible to implement those documents."
[111]
In February 2022, Finnish President
Sauli Niinistö said "the most possible solution (to the current situation) could be the Minsk agreement to be fulfilled or that there would be significant progress in its implementation."
[112]
On 15 February 2022, the Russian Duma voted to appeal to President Putin to recognise the self-proclaimed LPR and DPR.
[113] The next day, a Russian government spokesman acknowledged that officially recognising the Donbas republics would not be in keeping with the Minsk agreements.
[114] However, he also told journalists that Putin's priority in regulating the situation in Donbas is the implementation of mechanisms adopted under those agreements.
[115] Russia went on to officially recognise the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk people's republics on 21 February 2022.
[9] Following that decision, on 22 February 2022, President Putin said that the Minsk agreements "no longer existed", and that Ukraine, not Russia, was to blame for their collapse, accusing Ukraine of genocide in Donbas in his comments
[116][117][10] – a statement largely seen as
baseless and factually wrong by the wider world, academics studying genocide, and the
United Nations.
[118][119][120][121] Russia then
invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
[11]
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