“Russians Do Not Consider Ukrainians to Be Human”: Portnikov Explained Why It’s Impossible to Reach an Agreement with Putin

Part of Ukrainian society still believes that the Russo-Ukrainian war can be ended through arrangements with Vladimir Putin. In the opinion of journalist Vitalii Portnykov, such expectations are largely linked to a lack of understanding of the true stance of the Kremlin toward Ukraine. In a broadcast on Espreso, the journalist commented on widely circulated assumptions that the war could end after Ukraine loses Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. “People want to imagine something for themselves to understand how the war can be ended. In 2019 year they had one idea, in 2026 year another, but it’s the same idea,” Portnykov noted. According to him, current moods partially echo public expectations from 2019 year. Back then, many Ukrainians were convinced that a change of power would allow making a deal with the Kremlin and ending the conflict. “Why does the Russian-Ukrainian conflict even happen? Because the authorities enrich themselves, because they cannot make a deal with Putin, whereas with him you can make a deal. Because Poroshenko insulted Putin,” the journalist described as the widespread narrative at that time. At the same time Portnykov emphasized that attempts to negotiate with the Russian president were also made by the previous Ukrainian leadership. After being elected president in 2014, Petro Poroshenko participated in negotiations with the Kremlin, notably within the Normandy format. “He really wanted to make a deal with Putin. He went to Normandy, they launched this Normandy format, they conducted these talks all the time. And Putin absolutely did not want to negotiate with him,” the journalist noted. In Portnykov’s view, the Kremlin’s attitude toward Poroshenko changed after it became clear that the Ukrainian president would not agree to Russian terms. “How can you negotiate with Putin if Putin himself does not seek any agreements and demands capitulation? He stopped communicating with Poroshenko the very day he realized Poroshenko was not capable of capitulation,” he explained. The journalist also questioned the assumption that another Ukrainian leadership could find a way to negotiate with the Kremlin. “Why could some other person at the head of Ukraine negotiate with Putin?” Portnykov stressed. At the same time, he acknowledged that Ukraine has serious internal problems that need addressing. Among them, the journalist named corruption and weaknesses in state administration. “There is corruption during the war that must be fought. There is imperfect state governance that must be improved. There are many other reasons. And there is Putin,” he said. According to Portnykov, equating Ukraine’s internal problems with the causes of Russian aggression forms a mistaken belief that the war can only be ended through changes of power, internal reforms, or new deals with the Kremlin. Separately, the journalist drew attention to what, in his view, Ukrainian society still does not fully realize about the attitude of Russian society and political elites toward Ukraine. “The Ukrainians have a problem that perhaps does not exist among many other peoples of the former Soviet Union. They simply do not believe that Russians do not consider them people,” he noted. Portnykov said that even during his work in Russia he personally faced a similar attitude toward Ukrainians. He said that in Russian society Ukrainians were often viewed as people who could be manipulated and persuaded to return under Moscow’s control. “From the first day I started working in Russia, I knew how Ukrainians were treated. And I knew a very important thing—that Ukrainians do not believe it,” the journalist said. In his view, it is this misunderstanding of Russia’s true attitude toward Ukraine that makes some Ukrainians repeatedly seek opportunities to strike deals with the Kremlin. “People who do not understand this attitude always believe that they will be talked to and that deals will be made,” Portnykov said. At the same time, he noted that Russia is ready for talks primarily when it has no military way to achieve its goals. “And they can be talked to and deals can be made with them only if there is no force to overcome them. There are many of us; we cannot be defeated. That is the formula,” the journalist concluded. Earlier, Vitalii Portnykov stated that even in the event of a complete capture by Russia of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, that would not guarantee an end to the war against Ukraine.