Kyiv is “more optimistic today” about the potential end of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “than we were two months ago,” Iryna Mudra, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said Thursday.
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post during a visit to renew economic ties with Jerusalem, she projected a mix of battle-hardened resilience and cautious hope that the three-year-old war may finally be nearing its end.
Citing “concrete actions undertaken by US President [Donald] Trump,” Mudra said a resolution might be on the horizon. Ukraine is ready for diplomacy, but it would not accept peace at any price, she said.
“Ukraine is committed to diplomacy, but diplomacy based on international law, not just Russian demands,” she added. “Russian demands are not diplomacy.”
Mudra outlines Ukraine's 'red lines' in Russia peace negotiations
As the official responsible for legal matters in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office since March 2024, Mudra has a clear mandate regarding what Kyiv will and will not accept. Its redlines were sharp, she said.
“Any settlement that rewards aggression, any legitimization of territorial occupation, any deal that leaves Ukrainians unprotected from future invasions – we cannot accept,” she said. “No state can be asked to surrender its people or its sovereignty in exchange for temporary silence from the aggressor.”
A ceasefire is the immediate condition to start talks, but the ultimate goal is a “law-anchored framework,” not just a pause in fighting, Mudra said. She stressed the need for “enforceable, verifiable” international security guarantees that are distinct from the assurances of the past.
“We already had papers, and we understand what they mean – what Russia’s signature means,” she said, citing past failed agreements.
Furthermore, the size of the Ukrainian army is “not negotiable” below a certain number to ensure future defense, she added.
No amnesty for Russian leaders post-war: 'Justice is non-negotiable'
The end of kinetic warfare does not mean the end of legal warfare, Mudra said. Asked whether a peace deal might include amnesty for the Russian leadership, she said: “For me, as a lawyer... justice is not negotiable. No pardons to the other side for this war and act of aggression.”
Ukraine is currently tracking more 170,000 registered war crimes, Mudra said, adding that accountability must reach the very top – the “troika” of the president, prime minister, and foreign minister, along with top military commanders.
Nevertheless, she expressed skepticism regarding the International Criminal Court (ICC). While acknowledging the arrest warrants issued against Russian President Vladimir Putin, she said the ICC has been “very slow” and politicized.
“It is not disappointment,” she said. “It is really our opinion that they could have done much more, because the evidence is very clear.”
A major component of Mudra’s portfolio is the mechanism for compensation. According to an assessment by the World Bank and the European Commission in December 2024, there have been nearly $500 billion of damages, and that figure has risen since then.
Kyiv’s strategy relies heavily on accessing an estimated $300b. in frozen Russian sovereign assets, most of which are located in Europe, Mudra said. Ukraine received a loan in 2024 backed by the “profits” of these frozen assets, but the principal funds must be used for reparations, she said.
“We believe there is a strong justification in international law to use the principal of these assets,” Mudra said. “If [the Western partners] are not eager to take the money of the aggressor... then you go to the pocket of your taxpayers.”
Ukraine and Israel's relationship based on tikkun olam
Mudra’s visit to Israel marked the renewal of the Ukraine-Israel Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, which had not met for four years. The two nations share a “moral and practical framework,” she said, citing the Jewish concept of tikkun olam (repairing the world).
“This is my slogan,” she said with a smile.
Beyond philosophy, Mudra said there was a pragmatic alliance. Israel, with its experience in resilience and rebuilding under fire, should be at the “center of Ukraine’s recovery,” she said.
Mudra is pitching Ukraine not as a charity case but as Europe’s largest investment opportunity since 1945, specifically inviting Israeli firms in defense tech, healthcare, agriculture, and water management.
“Israeli investment is not only economically smart, but it is also historically right,” she said. “We want Israeli businesses to come to Kyiv... to become core architects of Ukraine’s future.”
Israel and Ukraine share the same experience of “fight and rebuild,” Mudra said.
“We are offering joint ventures access to a massive future market and long-term growth potential,” she said. “Ukraine is open now for business, not after the war.”
Despite the high-level legal and diplomatic maneuvering, the reality of the war remains visceral for Mudra.
Life in Kyiv is a duality of “pretending to live a normal life” while spending every second night in a bomb shelter with her seven-year-old son, she said. “If I am frustrated and without belief that we have to be strong... why should others be the same?”
“We go to work, we go to school... sometimes in the evening, I go with friends to a pub to drink beer or wine, because I really want to have a normal life,” Mudra said. “Ukrainians will continue to fight, but we need the support of our partners. We won’t be able to do this alone.”