Zelensky said that at the beginning of the war he was given an “ultimatum from Putin” demanding that Ukraine be led by Medvedchuk

During negotiations on a peace agreement between Moscow and Kiev, which took place in March 2022 in Istanbul, the Russian side gave the Ukrainian ultimatum demanding that Ukraine be led by pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk. Vladimir Zelensky stated this at a meeting with representatives of the International Media Council in Davos.

According to Zelensky, at the beginning of the war he did not meet personally with Vladimir Putin, but in the first days of the occupation of Ukrainian territory, “some people from Ukraine” came to him “with some papers” and conveyed “an ultimatum from Putin,” calling themselves negotiators. “They said that I should retreat, they will replace me with the pro-Russian Medvedchuk, and I am no longer president - which is not a problem for me, our people will vote,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky said Russia also demanded control over the entire Donbass and changes to the Ukrainian Constitution; reducing the size of the Ukrainian army and refusing to join NATO. In addition, Moscow insisted that Ukraine must make Russian the state language and destroy all long-range weapons with a range of more than 20 kilometers.

• Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk headed the Opposition Platform - For Life party and repeatedly met with Vladimir Putin, who became the godfather of his daughter - after which Medvedchuk began to be called the “godfather” of the Russian president. In 2021, the Ukrainian special services accused the politician of treason and sent him under house arrest. Medvedchuk managed to escape, in April 2022 he was detained again, and in September he was handed over to Russia, exchanged for more than 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war, defenders of Azovstal. Since then, Medvedchuk has lived in Russia.
• In November 2024, a Current Time/Radio Liberty investigative project called "System" published a document that was said to contain Russia's first proposals for a peace treaty. Moscow handed them over to Kyiv in early March 2022. In these proposals, in particular, there was a requirement to reduce the Armed Forces of Ukraine by five times compared to the pre-war number - to 50 thousand people. At the Davos forum on January 21, 2025, Zelensky said that Ukraine will not agree to the reduction of the army, which Vladimir Putin will demand and which will become one of the important issues during possible peace negotiations.