In spite of getting ass-kicking, Moscow’s appetite for foreign land is limitless.

Ukraine must transfer three more regions under Russia’s control in order to qualify for peace negotiations, a member of the Federation Council’s international affairs committee said. 

Sergey Tsekov, a senator representing the annexed Crimean Peninsula, said the territorial claims would not dismiss from the agenda the “demilitarization and denazification” and the “neutral status” of Ukraine – an aberration President Vladimir Putin used to justify the aggression against the neighboring country in February 2022. 

More to read:
[video] Moscow has achieved none of its goals in Ukraine, high ranking Russian lawmaker admits

Tsekov, a former Ukrainian politician who participated in the annexation of Crimea in 2014, named the provinces of Kharkiv, Mykolayiv, Odessa as “legitimate interests” of Russia, in addition to Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson, which the Kremlin regards as part of the Russian Federation as a result of fake referendums last year.

"I don't think they will agree to negotiations quickly and publicly. I judge based on myself, but if we were to engage in negotiations, it would be about Ukraine transferring the Mykolayiv and Odessa regions to Russia. Then, there could be some negotiations. In essence, even the Kharkiv region. This could be the starting point for negotiations. However, demilitarization, denazification, and neutral status remain on the agenda. When they are ready for that, then they qualify for negotiations," said Tsekov.

The senator largely neglects the fact that the Russian military currently control only a part of the last three regions and have lately suffered defeats.

Tsekov’s comments were preceded by last month’s interview with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, who demanded Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski to accept the “new territorial realities” and a bunch of other “peace terms.”

The Ukrainian side insists that negotiations will be possible after the liberation of all its territories.