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Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and said that it is impossible to conclude a peace agreement with the current Ukrainian government, effectively eliminating the possibility of serious peace negotiations. Putin said on September 5 at the Eastern Economic Forum that he "do[es] not see much point" in negotiating with Ukraine, as it will be "impossible" to reach an agreement with Ukraine. Putin falsely claimed that even if Russia and Ukraine conclude a peace agreement, Ukraine must lift martial law and hold presidential elections ahead of a national referendum to codify the agreement, and that the Ukrainian Constitutional Court must then make a decision on the referendum. Putin claimed that Ukraine lacks the "political will" to make an agreement at all, however, and that the Ukrainian Constitutional Court is non-functional as Zelensky is still in power, effectively reiterating his false claims that Zelensky and the current Ukrainian government are illegitimate. Putin and other Kremlin officials have repeatedly rejected the legitimacy of Zelensky and his government, deliberately misreading the Ukrainian constitution.[ Putin’s statement is part of his continued effort to portray Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials as partners with whom Russia cannot negotiate or sign a final peace agreement. ISW has long assessed that Putin is uninterested in meaningful negotiations to end the war and instead sought to delay or prolong negotiations, and his September 5 statements are now attempting to justify Russia’s refusal to negotiate at all. Putin is attempting to make peace negotiations impossible and falsely deflecting the blame onto Ukraine.
Putin and other Russian officials continue efforts to degrade Western unity and deter Western support for Ukraine, including undermining potential postwar security guarantees. Putin also stated at the Eastern Economic Forum that Russia will consider any foreign troops in Ukraine to be legitimate targets if the war in Ukraine continues. Putin claimed that he "simply do[es] not see any point" in deploying foreign troops to Ukraine after the war because Russia will "respect those security guarantees" that Russia and Ukraine develop. Putin’s statement threatening to strike foreign military assets in Ukraine is an attempt to provoke fear in the West about a possibility that European states are not considering. European member states of the Coalition of the Willing have consistently reiterated that any peacekeeping contingents that deploy to Ukraine will only do so after the conclusion of a long-term peace deal and even then would only operate in unspecified rear areas rather than on the frontline. The Kremlin is also intensifying its effort to deter Western states from taking actions unfavorable to Russia writ large, including supporting Ukraine. Russian Security Council Chairperson Dmitry Medvedev accused Finland on September 5 of senselessly "interfering" in Ukraine and reiterated that Russia cannot accept security guarantees for Ukraine if Russia feels its opinions are not considered. Medvedev also accused Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland of increasing military activity along the Russian border and urged Russia to increase its border protection in response to Finland’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and increased military activity in the Baltics. Putin’s accusations ignore Russia’s own electronic warfare (EW) jamming operations that have significantly affected the Baltics and other states along Russia’s western border in recent months, including jamming the GPS of planes carrying government officials. Putin and other Russian officials continue to reject Western security guarantees for Ukraine and to aggressively posture against NATO allies in an effort to dissuade European states from supporting Ukraine, including through post-war guarantees, and to demand that Russia have a veto over any Western security guarantees for Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces continue to strike Russian military and energy infrastructure in Russia and occupied Ukraine. The Ukrainian General Staff and Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) reported that elements of the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), Special Operations Forces (SSO), and Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) struck the Ryazan Oil Refinery on the night of September 5. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that the strikes hit the ELOU-AVT-6 primary oil refining unit, which has an estimated oil refining capacity of six million tons per year out of the Ryazan Oil Refinery’s entire refining capacity of 17.1 million tons of oil per year. Geolocated footage published on September 4 shows a fire at the Ryazan Oil Refinery’s ELOU-AVT-6 and AVT-4 refining units. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that the Ryazan Oil Refinery is one of the four largest oil refineries in Russia and produces gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, liquified gases, and other petroleum products. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that the Ukrainian SSO also struck an S-400 air defense system in Kaluga Oblast and that preliminary reports indicate that the strikes damaged a Russian command and staff vehicle and a control point. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) struck a Russian military warehouse containing ammunition and drones in occupied Luhansk City.
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