Russian officials are likely trying to shape international peace mediation efforts in the war in Ukraine while demonstrating Russia's unwillingness to engage in good-faith negotiations with Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said.

"[Russian Foreign Minister Sergei] Lavrov, however, reiterated boilerplate Kremlin narratives on September 9 demonstrating Russia's unwillingness to engage in good-faith negotiations with Ukraine, claiming that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's Peace Formula – which is indeed based on principles of international law – is an "ultimatum" and that Russia has never seriously considered the plan.[10] Ukrainian officials have openly invited a Russian representative to attend Ukraine's second peace summit later in 2024," it said.

According to the analysts, the Kremlin leveraged Russian regional elections from September 6 to 8 to integrate trusted Russian military veterans of the war in Ukraine into the Russian government, likely as part of an ongoing attempt to appease Russian servicemembers, boost domestic support for the war and build out a cadre of Kremlin-affiliated local officials.

ISW assessed that the program may also aim to incentivize Russians to fight in Ukraine by portraying Russian military service as a pathway to a government career.