The Minsk agreements were a set of ceasefire agreements signed in 2014 and 2015 between Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The agreements aimed to establish a comprehensive ceasefire, withdraw heavy weaponry from the front line, and implement other measures to bring peace to Ukraine.
However, despite the signing of the Minsk-2 agreement on February 12, 2015, the conflict continued, and the agreements failed to bring lasting peace to Ukraine. In fact, the fighting escalated, and over 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers were forced to withdraw from Debaltseve three days after the ceasefire was declared.
The agreements also included a point on the self-governance of the Russian-occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, which Russia pushed for but Ukraine opposed. The OSCE, which was supposed to monitor the implementation of the agreements, faced difficulties in accessing Russian-occupied territory.
In an interview, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Klimkin stated that the Minsk agreements were “a way of making us fundamentally dependent” on Russia. He also criticized the European leaders for prioritizing economic ties with Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.
The agreements failed to stop the war, leaving the conflict mostly frozen. The documents signed in Minsk were never ratified by any parliament, giving them no real legal weight. Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers were killed during this period, and even after the full-scale invasion in 2022, the fighting had not fully stopped.
Former Ukrainian President Poroshenko stated that the main goal was to buy time for Ukraine and slow down Russia’s advance in the east. He acknowledged that the agreements had failed to bring lasting peace but noted that they had achieved their goal of delaying the war.
The Minsk agreements were criticized for being “absolutely useless” as the OSCE operated mainly on Ukrainian-controlled territory, and European leaders prioritized economic ties with Russia over resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
In conclusion, the Minsk agreements failed to bring lasting peace to Ukraine due to the continued fighting, difficulties in implementing the agreements, and the prioritization of economic ties with Russia by European leaders.