Russian National Guard may replace troops in Donbas after ceasefire — Putin's aide

He shared this with the Russian newspaper Kommersant.

"It's quite possible that there will be no troops there directly, neither Russian nor Ukrainian. But there will be the Russian National Guard, there will be our police, there will be everything necessary to maintain order and organize life," Ushakov stated.

According to him, Donbas is allegedly Russian territory and will supposedly be under the control of the Russian Federation's administrations. The dictator's aide reacted this way to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statement about a referendum on the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Donbas.

"If not through negotiations, then this territory will come under the full control of the Russian Federation militarily. Everything else will depend on this. That is, a ceasefire can only occur after the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops," Ushakov said.