April 10 and 11 updates om Russia-Ukraine War from the Institute for the Study of War
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) provided an update on the Russia-Ukraine War on April 10, including this comment on the status of negotiations (paragraph breaks added):
Russia continues to use bilateral talks with the United States to delay negotiations about the war in Ukraine, suggesting that the Kremlin remains uninterested in serious peace negotiations to end the war. [bolded in original] The US Department of State (DoS) reported that US and Russian delegations met in Istanbul on April 10 to discuss the finalization of "an understanding to ensure the stability of diplomatic banking for Russian and US bilateral missions." The US DoS stated that the US delegation reiterated concerns about the current Russian policy prohibiting the US Embassy in Moscow from employing local staff, which the United States sees as a barrier to the embassy's stable and sustainable staffing.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on April 10 that the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the US DoS would only discuss bilateral relations and would not discuss Ukraine. Russian Ambassador to the United States Alexander Darchiev stated on April 10 that the United States and Russia agreed to measures to facilitate the movement of diplomats and accelerate the granting of diplomatic visas. Darchiev also stated that the Russian delegation prioritized discussions about the return of confiscated Russian diplomatic property in the United States.
Russia continues to use bilateral talks with the United States to discuss issues unrelated to the war in Ukraine, even as US President Donald Trump continues efforts to achieve the temporary ground ceasefire upon which both the United States and Ukraine have agreed. The talks in Istanbul suggest that Russia is using diplomatic engagements with the United States to distract from the war and to obfuscate its own disinterest in productive peace negotiations.1 [my emphasis in italics]
In other words, Putin continues to run diplomatic circles around Trump and his Special Envoy to Everywhere Steve Witkoff.
The same report talks about the reports of Chinese fighters on Russia’s side in the war: “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on April 9 that Ukrainian authorities have identified 155 Chinese citizens fighting with Russian forces in Ukraine but that there are likely many more.” Ukraine seems to be claiming that they are mercenaries rather than part of the Chinese People’s Army: “Zelensky stated that Russian forces are posting advertisements on TikTok and other Chinese social networks to recruit Chinese citizens and that the Chinese nationals traveled to Moscow, where they underwent medical examinations and one to two months of military training before deploying to Ukraine.”
While stories about foreign fighters like this are worth paying attention to, they aren’t terribly surprising in themselves. Even back in 2022, the American pundit and TV commentator Malcolm Nance was publicly bragging about being in Ukraine as a part of something called the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, now known as the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine which is part the Ukrainian Ground Forces.
The current Wikipedia entry for the group2 has a helpful table listing a number of countries and whether it is legal for their citizens to serve in a foreign army. For Britain, it lists “Illegal but unenforced,” for the US “Unclear.” A 2022 analysis from Just Security described in more detailed the ambiguities of US law at that time.3
The ISW update for April 11 includes this about Super Diplomat Steve Witkoff’s scheduled trip to Russia:
US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev in St. Petersburg on April 11 to discuss the war in Ukraine. [bolded in original] Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov … claimed that one should not "expect any breakthroughs" during the Putin-Witkoff meeting and that Russia and the United States are in the process of normalizing relations and "searching" for a way to settle the war in Ukraine. Peskov claimed that the Putin-Witkoff meeting and the April 10 US-Russian bilateral meeting in Istanbul are not related but are "two different tracks with one common process."[9] White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on April 11 that the Putin-Witkoff meeting is another step in the negotiating process toward a ceasefire and an "ultimate peace deal" in the war in Ukraine. Dmitriev stated that his meeting with Witkoff was "productive."4 [my emphasis in italics]
The April 11 update goes on to say, “The Kremlin continues to explicitly demonstrate its unwillingness to make compromises and cede Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine as part of any future peace negotiations – in contrast to Ukrainian officials who have expressed their willingness to make territorial compromises in a future peace agreement.”
The BBC recently had this report on the state of Russia-Ukraine war negotiations, which includes Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s claim that Russia’s expected spring offensive has already begun.5 (The second part of the report deals with issues related to Britain’s needs in transitioning to a more independent European defense plan.)
Novikov, Daria et al (2025): Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment. Institute for the Study of War 04/10/2025. <https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Russian%20Offensive%20Campaign%20Assessment%2C%20April%2010%2C%202025%20PDF.pdf> (Accessed: 2025-12-04).
International Legion (Ukraine). Wikipedia 04/10/2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=International_Legion_(Ukraine)&oldid=1284954071> (Accessed: 2025-11-04).
Redesill, Dakota (2022): American Fighters, Ukraine, and the Neutrality Act: The Law and the Urgent Need for Clarity. Just Security 03/15/2022. <https://www.justsecurity.org/80612/american-fighters-ukraine-and-the-neutrality-act-the-law-and-the-urgent-need-for-clarity/> (Accessed: 2025-12-04).
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment. Institute for the Study of War 04/10/2025. <https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/2025-04-11-PDF-Russian%20Offensive%20Campaign%20Assessment.pdf> (Accessed: 2025-12-04).
Is Donald Trump still interested in Ukraine-Russia peace talks? BBC News YouTube channel 04/11/2025. (Accessed: 2025-12-04).