Minsk III — Volume I: Framework Agreement

Preamble

Ukraine and the Russian Federation (together, the **Parties**),

Conscious of the immense human suffering caused by the war, including death and injury; detention, disappearance, and family separation; displacement; the destruction of homes, livelihoods, civilian, cultural, industrial, energy, and other critical infrastructure; environmental degradation; economic disruption; institutional dislocation; and enduring psychological and social trauma;

Determined to end organized hostilities, protect present and future generations from renewed war, and establish a just, comprehensive, and durable peace;

Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, including the prohibition of the threat or use of force, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and respect for applicable international humanitarian law, international human-rights law, refugee law, and other rules of international law;

Reaffirming the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, and the principle that territory shall not be acquired by the threat or use of force;

Emphasizing that temporary military lines, transitional administrations, local or autonomous institutions, security arrangements, access rights, and treaty-based facilities established or recognized under this Agreement shall not transfer sovereignty, alter an international boundary, or constitute recognition of territorial acquisition by force;

Recognizing that the cessation of organized hostilities, while indispensable, cannot alone resolve the political, cultural, institutional, humanitarian, security, economic, environmental, and social consequences of the war;

Convinced that durable peace requires verified military stabilization and separation; the reduction of reciprocal security fears; the restoration and effective exercise of Ukrainian sovereignty; the protection of affected populations; recovery from trauma and displacement; equitable reconstruction; lawful and locally legitimate institutions; and reliable means of managing continuing disagreement without violence;

Affirming that the rights, dignity, security, and cultural and linguistic freedoms of all affected persons and communities, including Russian-speaking communities, must be protected without discrimination and without legitimizing annexation, forced displacement, or territorial acquisition by force;

Recognizing that political, territorial, historical, cultural, and security disagreements may continue after the cessation of hostilities, and affirming that such disagreements shall be expressed, negotiated, and managed through peaceful and lawful institutions rather than through force, coercion, terrorism, violent proxy activity, or other violent non-State operations;

Recognizing further that measures addressing terrorism, sabotage, organized crime, and other threats to public security must remain consistent with international law and with the fundamental protections established by this Agreement;

Affirming that persons and communities affected by the war must have meaningful, accessible, and continuing opportunities to participate in decisions concerning their security, administration, return, recovery, and reconstruction, and that public functions should be exercised at the closest competent and accountable level consistent with legality, impartiality, and effective performance;

Recognizing that criminal accountability, truth-seeking, victim recognition, reconciliation, reparative measures, missing-person recovery, family reunification, return, and social reintegration are complementary but institutionally distinct processes, none of which shall improperly displace, obstruct, or be substituted for another;

Acknowledging the interdependence of military, political, humanitarian, economic, institutional, cultural, environmental, and social measures, and the need to combine fixed legal and humanitarian protections with implementation methods responsive to local conditions, verified evidence, and unintended consequences;

Resolved to implement this Agreement through sequenced, reciprocal, and verifiable commitments; progressively earned benefits; accountable institutions; and procedures capable of adaptation without derogation from its fundamental legal, territorial, and humanitarian protections;

Recognizing that failure in one mechanism should, wherever possible, be contained within that mechanism rather than destroy the settlement as a whole, and that civilian protection, humanitarian access, nuclear and critical-infrastructure safety, evidence preservation, missing-person recovery, emergency communications, and peaceful dispute resolution must continue through political and operational disruption;

Affirming that guarantors, mediators, international institutions, and other external participants shall exercise only defined, limited, and reviewable functions; remain answerable for the exercise of their authority; and support rather than displace lawful national and local capacity;

Determined to perform this Agreement in good faith, without circumvention, deliberate obstruction, or exploitation of ambiguity, and recognizing that commitments to future negotiation require a genuine peaceful process without predetermining outcomes not expressly settled by this Agreement;

Believing that sustainable peace rests not only upon the absence of organized violence, but upon human dignity, lawful government, reciprocal security, political participation, material recovery, institutional resilience, and the capacity to preserve disagreement without its violent enforcement.

Have agreed as follows:

Part I – Foundations and Governing Principles

Article 1 — Object and Purpose

1. This Framework Agreement establishes the constitutional, legal, and institutional basis of Minsk III.

2. Its purposes are to:
a. end and prevent the renewal of armed hostilities;
b. protect civilians, humanitarian action, and essential civilian systems;
c. restore and secure Ukraine’s effective sovereign administration throughout its internationally recognized territory through lawful and verified arrangements;
d. provide a credible, reciprocal, and independently verifiable system of implementation, compliance, and peaceful dispute management;
e. support voluntary, safe, dignified, and rights-respecting recovery, return, reintegration, reconstruction, and reconciliation; and
f. establish a modular settlement in which failure in one mechanism does not unnecessarily defeat the wider peace.

3. This Agreement creates neither a political reward for aggression nor a condition of permanent insecurity for any population. Its provisions shall be interpreted to give effect to peace, lawful sovereignty, civilian protection, non-domination, and durable security.

Article 2 — Parties, Participating Institutions, and Scope

1. Ukraine and the Russian Federation are the Parties to this Agreement.

2. A State, international organization, guarantor, monitoring mission, mediator, financial institution, local body, civil-society organization, or other actor becomes a **Participating Institution** only to the extent that it accepts a written undertaking, mandate, or designation under this Agreement.

3. Participation by an external actor does not make it a Party, confer general authority, or create obligations beyond those expressly accepted.

4. This Agreement applies to conduct materially connected to armed hostilities, their cessation, the implementation of Minsk III, or the protection of persons, systems, and processes established under it. Its territorial safeguards apply throughout Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

5. Nothing in this Agreement prejudges the rights, duties, or legal interests of persons or entities other than the Parties except as permitted by applicable international law and lawful procedures that protect their rights.

Article 3 — Common Legal Floor and Fixed Normative Ends

1. The following are fixed normative ends of Minsk III and shall not be adapted, suspended, or diminished by a Protocol, Annex, Implementation Decision, operational practice, or political understanding:

a. Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders;
b. non-recognition of territorial acquisition by force;
c. cessation of hostile acts and protection of civilians;
d. humane treatment, humanitarian access, family unity, and the protection of persons affected by conflict;
e. due process, voluntary return, and protection from coercion, collective punishment, and discrimination;
f. meaningful political and civic participation; and
g. the limited, accountable, and temporary character of delegated or external authority.

2. Institutions and methods may be adapted only to improve the effective realization of these ends, within the procedures and limits of this Agreement.

3. No practical difficulty, political disagreement, domestic change of government, or institutional disruption shall be interpreted as authorizing departure from the common legal floor.

Article 4 — Sovereignty, Territorial Integrity, and International Borders

1. The Parties affirm that Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders are the legal borders for all purposes of this Agreement.

2. No line of contact, disengagement line, monitoring area, transitional administrative boundary, autonomous arrangement, route, facility-access arrangement, lease, map, coordinate schedule, or implementation measure shall constitute or produce:

a. a transfer of sovereignty;
b. recognition or validation of occupation, purported annexation, or territorial acquisition by force;
c. alteration of the international boundary; or
d. a presumption of lawful jurisdiction beyond that expressly authorized by Ukraine and applicable international law.

3. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol form part of Ukraine. Any future arrangements concerning their administration, rights protections, access, or use of specifically identified facilities shall proceed only under the mandated process in Volume IV and shall not call this legal status into question.

Article 5 — Non-Recognition and Non-Prejudice

1. The Parties shall not recognize, support, or give legal effect to territorial acquisition by force, purported annexation, or any unilateral alteration of Ukraine’s international boundary.

2. Practical contact, humanitarian coordination, deconfliction, service delivery, documentation, evidence preservation, or technical arrangements with persons or bodies exercising de facto control shall not constitute recognition of territorial title, sovereign jurisdiction, or lawful governmental authority.

3. No Party may invoke a domestic measure, prior asserted legal position, administrative practice, or the conduct of another person to justify non-performance of this Article or of a Protected Obligation.

4. This Agreement does not prejudice individual criminal responsibility, the preservation of evidence, or the jurisdiction of a competent national or international court or tribunal.

Article 6 — Temporary Arrangements and Ukrainian Sovereign Administration

1. Temporary arrangements may regulate specified security, civilian-administrative, logistical, recovery, or access functions where necessary to implement this Agreement.

2. Every temporary arrangement shall be written, geographically and functionally bounded, time-limited or reviewable, subject to verification, and capable of suspension or termination in accordance with this Agreement.

3. Temporary control, transitional administration, autonomy, access, or the presence of an external actor does not confer sovereignty, territorial title, general jurisdiction, or a right of permanence.

4. An authorized foreign presence on Ukrainian territory shall derive exclusively from a defined, revocable treaty right or mandate granted consistently with Ukrainian sovereignty. It shall not derive from occupation, annexation, prescription, demographic alteration, or military control.

5. Local and autonomous institutions may exercise only the internal civilian competencies expressly assigned under Ukrainian law and the applicable Protocol. Such competencies shall neither create a separate sovereign entity nor obstruct the restoration of Ukraine’s lawful institutions.

Article 7 — Governing Principles of Implementation

1. The Parties and Participating Institutions shall implement Minsk III in good faith and in accordance with the following principles:

a. conflict transformation: addressing not only immediate violence but also the conditions, incentives, and relationships that sustain it;
b. reciprocity and proportionality: linking significant benefits and burdens to observable, lawful, and politically intelligible reciprocal performance;
c. subsidiarity: assigning functions as close as practicable to affected populations, subject to the common legal floor and effective accountability;
d. contextual differentiation: permitting locally appropriate methods without unequal sovereignty, diminished rights, or discriminatory treatment;
e. civilian protection and do-no-harm: assessing foreseeable effects on safety, access to services, displacement, and social cohesion;
f. accountability and answerability: requiring reasoned decisions, identifiable responsibility, independent oversight, and accessible review; and
g. preservation of disagreement without violent enforcement: allowing lawful political, linguistic, cultural, and historical disagreement while prohibiting coercion, incitement to violence, and obstruction of protected processes.

2. In applying these principles, no Party or institution shall exploit ambiguity, delay, or administrative incapacity to obtain an unagreed substantive political advantage.

Article 8 — Modularity, Reciprocity, and Protected Continuity

1. Minsk III is a modular settlement. A violation, delay, impossibility, or dispute concerning one obligation, benefit, Protocol, Annex, area, or phase shall affect only the matters materially connected to it unless Article 21 establishes a Strategic Resumption of Hostilities.

2. The Parties shall structure implementation through reciprocal and, where appropriate, synchronized measures. No Party shall be required to make an irreversible concession before receiving the independently verifiable reciprocal protection or performance on which that concession expressly depends.

3. The following **Protected Obligations** remain applicable through phase delay, partial suspension, institutional disruption, dispute, withdrawal notice, and non-performance of unrelated obligations:

a. civilian protection and the prohibition of attacks on protected persons and objects;
b. humanitarian access and humane treatment;
c. nuclear and critical-infrastructure safety;
d. detainee safeguards, missing-person and family-recovery processes, and the dignified handling of remains;
e. preservation of evidence and records;
f. emergency and secure communications, notification, incident response, and provisional protective measures; and
g. non-retaliation and access to the dispute-resolution procedures.

4. The Protected Obligations Schedule in Volume III may specify and organize these obligations but may not narrow or diminish this Article.

Article 9 — Bounded External Participation and Guarantees

1. External participation shall be invited or authorized only where it supplies a defined function that the Parties or Ukrainian institutions cannot credibly perform alone at the relevant stage, including monitoring, verification, mediation, technical assistance, humanitarian support, financing, or narrowly defined security support.

2. Each external mandate shall state its legal basis, geographic and functional scope, duration, reporting duties, funding source, information safeguards, review procedure, and termination or transfer arrangements.

3. No external actor may exercise sovereign authority, conduct coercive military operations, undertake unilateral law-enforcement activity, compel access to information systems, or exercise jurisdiction outside authority otherwise available under international law and an accepted mandate.

4. Guarantees and security assurances shall be expressed through written undertakings that specify the actor concerned, the triggering conditions, permissible measures, consultation requirements, review, and relationship to the United Nations Charter and applicable international law.

5. External authority shall be no broader or longer than necessary. It shall be subject to transparency, independent review, Ukrainian sovereign oversight, and meaningful consultation with affected populations.

Article 10 — Integrity, Anti-Capture, and Protection of Civic Space

1. The Parties shall protect the independence, safety, and lawful functioning of monitors, humanitarian personnel, witnesses, journalists, civil-society participants, local officials, community representatives, and persons using implementation or complaint processes.

2. No person shall be subjected to retaliation, intimidation, arbitrary detention, violence, discriminatory denial of services, or adverse administrative action for providing information, participating in lawful consultation, seeking a remedy, or criticizing implementation peacefully.

3. Peace administration, reconstruction-linked decisions, and implementation finance shall be transparent, auditable, subject to conflict-of-interest controls, and protected against coercion or capture by armed groups, criminal networks, or corrupt patronage systems.

4. The Parties shall prohibit and investigate conduct materially intended to derail implementation, including attacks by proxies or unofficial formations; sabotage of protected systems; attacks on negotiators or monitors; interference with verification or evidence; destructive cyber activity against protected civilian systems; and fabricated incidents intended to create a false basis for escalation.

5. Nothing in this Article authorizes restrictions on lawful expression, peaceful political activity, protected journalism, humanitarian action, or advocacy merely because it is critical, unpopular, or politically inconvenient.

Article 11 — Implementation Integrity and Functional Separation

1. The design and operation of Minsk III shall separate, to the greatest extent practicable, the functions of operations, monitoring, evidence custody, factual verification, attribution, certification, remedies, and adjudication.

2. No body shall control operations, evidence custody, attribution, and the imposition of remedies in the same matter unless an emergency requires a temporary protective act within a narrowly defined mandate.

3. Monitoring bodies may collect and preserve information and report factual findings; certification bodies may determine whether a stated threshold has been met; and competent legal or political bodies may determine responsibility and consequences only through the procedures assigned to them.

4. The evidentiary standard shall be proportionate to the decision: credible risk may justify urgent protective measures; stated confidence levels may support technical findings; and serious attribution, suspension, or a finding of Strategic Resumption of Hostilities shall require the higher standard specified in Article 21 and the relevant Protocol.

Article 12 — Participation, Information, and Local Agency

1. Affected populations shall have meaningful, safe, accessible, and non-discriminatory opportunities to participate in decisions materially affecting their safety, residence, property, livelihood, family unity, civic status, public services, recovery, or local governance.

2. Participation shall be specified as one or more of the following: information, consultation, recommendation, reasoned-response, co-design, budgetary participation, concurrence, or consent.

3. Information and consultation shall be timely, accessible, linguistically appropriate, and adapted to disability, displacement, security, and documentation barriers. Consultation shall not be treated as completed merely by ceremonial attendance or a generic invitation to comment.

4. Consultation, recommendation, or observation does not create a veto unless a Protocol or applicable Ukrainian law expressly requires concurrence or consent. Where concurrence or consent is required, the competent body shall provide adequate information, time, protection, and reasons to allow its meaningful exercise.

5. The Parties shall support protected local observation, community complaint, victim and family participation, and community review of reconstruction priorities and expenditures as elements of implementation security and public legitimacy.

Article 13 — Distinct and Connected Justice and Recovery Tracks

1. Minsk III shall support distinct but coordinated processes for:

a. criminal accountability and due process;
b. truth, documentation, archives, and public memory;
c. detainees, missing persons, family reunification, identity, and the recovery and return of remains;
d. victim recognition, reparations, property claims, and compensation;
e. voluntary return, housing, reintegration, and trauma-informed recovery; and
f. dialogue, reconciliation, civic resilience, and prevention of renewed violence.

2. Delay, disagreement, or non-performance in one track shall not automatically suspend another. In particular, missing-person recovery, family contact, humane treatment, evidence preservation, and urgent humanitarian support shall not be made conditional on political, electoral, amnesty, or final-status arrangements.

3. No mechanism for reconciliation, reintegration, or political dialogue shall create immunity for crimes or prevent independent investigation and adjudication by a competent authority.

4. The detailed obligations, institutions, safeguards, and remedies for these tracks are governed by the relevant Protocols and Annexes.

Article 14 — Adaptation, Review, and Political Resilience

1. The Parties shall review implementation periodically and when an emergency, material regression, unforeseen operational condition, or credible risk of renewed violence requires it.

2. Adaptation may improve methods, sequencing, coordination, or technical implementation within existing authority. It shall not amend a substantive obligation, alter sovereignty or territorial status, diminish rights or a Protected Obligation, expand a mandate, or create an unagreed political bargain.

3. Before recommending a major implementing decision, later-phase activation, major reconstruction programme, alteration of a significant conditional benefit, or a change to local competencies, the competent body shall obtain a proportionate Political Resilience and Distributional Impact Assessment.

4. That Assessment shall examine foreseeable spoiler narratives; uneven benefits or burdens; risks of coercion, corruption, criminal capture, or deliberate misrepresentation; the public intelligibility of reciprocal obligations; the capacity to secure lawful domestic support; and feasible safeguards or fallback arrangements.

5. The Assessment informs design and communication. It does not grant a veto to nationalist opposition, armed actors, criminal networks, or any person seeking to defeat this Agreement through intimidation or violence.

6. The distinction between adaptation, formal amendment, technical correction, partial suspension, and non-performance is governed by Articles 20, 23, and 24.

Article 15 — Good Faith, Non-Derogation, and Continuity of the Framework

1. The Parties shall perform this Agreement in good faith and shall take all appropriate measures within their authority to give it practical effect.

2. No Protocol, Annex, Schedule, Implementation Decision, mandate, operating procedure, or Implementation Handbook guidance may derogate from this Framework by implication.

3. Institutional disruption, an election, a change of government, a domestic legal dispute, the expiration or suspension of a subordinate instrument, or delay in a future negotiation track shall not suspend this Framework or excuse performance of obligations not expressly and lawfully dependent on the matter concerned.

4. The Parties shall maintain an official common negotiation and implementation record through the Independent Secretariat, without prejudice to confidential mediation or protected information procedures.

Part II — Interpretation and External Legal Relationship

Article 16 — Essential Definitions

1. For the purposes of Minsk III:

a. **Agreement** means Minsk III as a whole, comprising this Framework, binding Protocols and Annexes, and instruments validly adopted pursuant to them;
b. **Framework** means this Volume I Framework Agreement;
c. **Protocol** means a binding field-specific instrument that regulates substantive obligations, institutional functions, or an implementation track;
d. **Annex** means a binding technical, operational, cartographic, procedural, or site-specific instrument attached to, or adopted under, the Framework or a Protocol;
e. **Schedule** means an Annex or part of an Annex that organizes time-bound, geographic, quantitative, or phase-specific implementation detail;
f. **Implementation Decision** means a written decision, certification, designation, authorization, or case-specific act validly adopted by a Competent Body within authority expressly conferred by a superior instrument;
g. **Competent Body** means the Party, institution, court, commission, mission, or other body expressly authorized to perform the function concerned;
h. **Affected Population** means persons and communities whose rights, safety, residence, property, livelihood, family unity, civic participation, services, or legal status may be materially affected by an implementation measure;
i. **Temporary Control** means factual military, security, administrative, or other effective control without sovereignty, territorial title, or authority beyond that expressly established by this Agreement or international law;
j. **Transitional Administration** means a temporary, written, geographically and functionally bounded arrangement for specified functions under Ukrainian sovereignty;
k. **Autonomous Institution** means a local or regional body exercising defined internal competencies under Ukrainian sovereignty, applicable Ukrainian law, and its lawful mandate;
l. **Protected Obligation** has the meaning given in Article 8;
m. **Violation** means an act or omission inconsistent with an obligation under Minsk III;
n. **Material Connection** means a direct and substantial factual, operational, financial, technical, or causal link between conduct and an obligation or benefit under Minsk III; it shall not be inferred solely from political sympathy, rhetoric, or incidental association;
o. **Verification** means the collection, preservation, assessment, and reporting of information to determine compliance, activation conditions, factual circumstances, or the reliability of a claim;
p. **Certification** means a reasoned written determination by a competent and independent body that a specified threshold has, has not, or cannot yet be shown to have been satisfied;
q. **Strategic Resumption of Hostilities** has the meaning given in Article 21; and
r. **Entry into Force**, **Provisional Application**, and **Activation** have the meanings assigned in Article 24.

2. Foundational definitions in this Framework apply throughout Minsk III. A Protocol or Annex may define a specialized term for technical precision in its own operation only where that definition supplements, and does not contradict or diminish, a foundational definition, this Framework, a Protected Obligation, or the territorial safeguards in Articles 4 to 6.

3. Technical terminology, classifications, coordinate systems, maps, tables, reporting formats, and confidence notations shall be interpreted under the relevant Protocol or Annex, subject to this Framework and applicable international law.

Article 17 — Relationship to International Law and Other Agreements

1. This Agreement shall be interpreted and implemented in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and applicable international law.

2. Nothing in Minsk III shall be interpreted as:

a. recognizing, validating, or prejudicing the consequences of territorial acquisition by force, occupation, purported annexation, or unlawful alteration of an international boundary;
b. authorizing conduct contrary to peremptory norms of general international law, international humanitarian law, international human-rights law, refugee law, or other applicable obligations;
c. diminishing protections otherwise available to civilians, detainees, displaced persons, victims, minorities, humanitarian personnel, journalists, witnesses, or other protected persons;
d. creating immunity from individual criminal responsibility or prejudicing the jurisdiction of a competent court or tribunal; or
e. authorizing unilateral foreign military action, extraterritorial law-enforcement activity, compulsory access to information systems, or jurisdiction not otherwise available under international law.

3. This Agreement does not create obligations or rights for a third State, international organization, person, or entity without its consent, except as otherwise provided by applicable international law.

4. The Parties shall perform this Agreement consistently with their other applicable international obligations. A Party that identifies a direct inconsistency shall promptly notify the other Party and the Competent Body in writing and seek an interpretation or lawful adjustment that preserves this Agreement and the affected obligation.

5. Future agreements contemplated by Minsk III may supplement implementation only where they preserve this Framework and are concluded under the procedures required by this Agreement and applicable law. Failure to conclude such an agreement shall not terminate, suspend, or excuse the performance of obligations not expressly dependent on it.

Part III — Immediate Peace and Implementation Architecture

Article 18 — Immediate Cessation and Protected Obligations

1. Upon Entry into Force, or during Provisional Application where so declared, the Parties shall commence a nationwide cessation of hostile acts at the date and time specified in the applicable Schedule.

2. The cessation applies throughout Ukraine and to land, maritime, air, cyber, electromagnetic, and information activity materially connected to armed hostilities or implementation of this Agreement.

3. Neither Party shall conduct, authorize, direct, support, facilitate, or knowingly permit:

a. attacks, offensive operations, shelling, missile or drone strikes, sabotage, or other hostile military activity;
b. attacks against civilians, civilian objects, humanitarian personnel, medical services, civilian transport, essential public services, or protected cultural property;
c. attacks, interference, or threatening military activity affecting nuclear or radiological facilities, dams, energy systems, water systems, telecommunications, ports, food systems, or other designated critical infrastructure;
d. attacks against implementation personnel, monitoring systems, communications channels, evidence repositories, humanitarian operations, or protected participants;
e. prohibited violent activity by proxies, irregular formations, contractors, intelligence-linked actors, or nominally private entities; or
f. destructive cyber operations, electronic interference, or information operations intended to cause physical harm, disable protected civilian systems, fabricate a treaty violation, or materially obstruct implementation.

4. The Parties shall ensure safe, rapid, and unimpeded humanitarian access in accordance with applicable international law. Such access shall not be conditioned on political allegiance, recognition of any authority, participation in a political process, or acceptance of a territorial claim.

5. From the commencement of the cessation, the Parties shall exchange available information concerning detainees, civilian detainees, deported or transferred persons, missing persons, unidentified remains, and separated families; preserve relevant records; facilitate urgent family contact and recovery of remains; and refrain from concealment, transfer, coercion, or retaliation against persons covered by this paragraph.

6. Each Party shall preserve records, communications, sites, objects, and other evidence relevant to alleged violations, missing-person cases, civilian harm, unlawful appropriation, and implementation. Source protection and sensitive-information procedures shall not be used to destroy, conceal, or manipulate evidence.

7. The Parties shall maintain continuously staffed military, civilian-emergency, humanitarian, and implementation communications channels. Failure of one channel shall trigger the designated fallback channel and does not excuse notification duties.

8. A Party receiving credible information of a prohibited incident, imminent danger to civilians, or threat to protected infrastructure shall promptly notify the Joint Incident-Response Centre and take all feasible measures within its control to prevent or mitigate harm.

9. Technical rules on force posture, weapons, notification, protected sites, communications, humanitarian operations, detainee procedures, and verification are established in the relevant Protocols and Annexes.

Article 19 — Implementation Architecture

1. The following core bodies are established or designated under Minsk III:

a. the State Negotiating Council;
b. the Minsk III Implementation Commission;
c. the Independent Secretariat;
d. the International Monitoring and Verification Mission;
e. the Joint Incident-Response Centre;
f. Technical Committees and independent Expert Panels;
g. the Autonomous-Zone and Municipal Chamber; and
h. the Victims’ and Families’ Advisory Chamber.

2. The Participation and Community-Integrity Architecture shall additionally include, through mandates or Protocols, a Civil-Society Consultation Chamber, a Local Civilian Observation Network, a Protected Public-Submission Office, and Community Reconstruction Review Councils. Their configuration may adapt to local conditions but their protected functions under Articles 10 and 12 shall be maintained.

3. The State Negotiating Council is the forum for binding interstate decisions reserved to the Parties, including new substantive commitments, changes to political terms, and formal amendments. Such decisions require the express agreement of both Parties.

4. The Implementation Commission shall coordinate implementation; adopt administrative and procedural decisions within its mandate; receive verification findings; issue reasoned certifications concerning phase criteria; supervise implementation bodies; initiate cure and corrective procedures; and publish regular implementation reports subject to necessary confidentiality safeguards.

5. The Independent Secretariat shall provide secure records management, logistics, financial administration, publication, meeting support, institutional memory, and continuity planning. It shall act impartially and shall not determine attribution, legal responsibility, or remedies.

6. The International Monitoring and Verification Mission shall operate independently under a written mandate. It may observe, collect and preserve information, verify compliance, report factual findings, and recommend protective or corrective measures. It shall not exercise sovereign authority, conduct coercive military operations, or impose remedies.

7. The Joint Incident-Response Centre shall operate continuously to receive urgent notifications, maintain emergency communications, coordinate immediate protection and deconfliction, preserve initial incident records, refer matters for verification or investigation, and issue provisional safety recommendations without prejudging responsibility.

8. Technical Committees and Expert Panels may develop technical standards, assess specialized evidence, and propose operational solutions. Their findings shall be reasoned, recorded, and reviewable under their mandate.

9. The participatory bodies shall perform the functions specified under Articles 10 and 12. In particular, the Municipal Chamber shall exercise consultation, concurrence, or consent only where expressly required; the Victims’ and Families’ Chamber shall participate in policy relating to missing persons, remains recovery, victim recognition, reparations, family reunification, and reintegration; and reconstruction review shall include local priority-setting, expenditure review, procurement oversight, and anti-capture referrals.

10. No body established under this Article has powers beyond those expressly conferred by this Agreement, a Protocol, or a valid mandate. No mandate may alter Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, constitutional order, or territorial status.

11. The financing, appointment rules, voting procedures, information safeguards, and detailed institutional statutes are governed by Volume III. Funding shall be predictable, transparent, independently audited, and structured to prevent dependence on a single external participant.

Article 20 — Sequencing, Activation, and Assessment

1. Implementation shall proceed through four centrally defined phases:

a. **Phase I — Immediate Stabilization:** cessation of hostile acts, force stabilization or separation, civilian and infrastructure protection, humanitarian access, incident notification, and initial detainee, deportee, missing-person, and remains measures;
b. **Phase II — Military Disengagement:** verified withdrawal, redeployment, separation, heavy-weapons arrangements, mine action, monitoring-zone establishment, and deployment of the international mission;
c. **Phase III — Transitional Administration:** interim civilian governance, policing and judicial-transition arrangements, service restoration, return and registration procedures, civic protections, and preparation for lawful elections; and
d. **Phase IV — Political and Economic Normalization:** elections, lawful status arrangements, conditional normalization measures, reconstruction and compensation mechanisms, maritime and cross-border cooperation, and longer-term security arrangements.

2. Phase I begins upon Entry into Force or Provisional Application. A later phase begins only upon independent Certification that its applicable conditions have been substantially met.

3. Phase criteria shall be measurable, independently observable, and publicly intelligible. The relevant Schedule shall identify indicators, evidentiary thresholds, responsible data providers, independent verifiers, confidence and uncertainty notation, dependencies, and cure procedures.

4. A phase or instrument may be activated partially, geographically, or by subject matter only where the Competent Body determines that the activation is legally and operationally separable; does not prejudice Ukraine’s sovereignty or territorial integrity; does not reduce a Protected Obligation; has adequate monitoring and corrective capacity; and is accompanied by public reasons and review arrangements.

5. The Implementation Commission shall conduct rolling compliance assessments. A material regression triggers targeted corrective measures and may suspend only the materially connected activation, benefit, or mechanism.

6. Where performance is delayed, the affected Party or institution shall distinguish inability from unwillingness and provide reasons, supporting evidence, mitigation measures, and a corrective timetable. Force majeure may justify a proportionate extension only where it is unforeseeable, beyond the invoking actor’s control, and not caused or aggravated by that actor’s conduct.

7. No cure period, extension, or phase delay excuses a Protected Obligation or permits an actor to profit from its own obstruction, concealment, violence, or failure to cooperate.

Part IV — Compliance and Peaceful Dispute Management

Article 21 — Compliance, Incidents, and Remedies

1. Violations shall be classified under the applicable procedures as technical, material, aggravated, or constituting a Strategic Resumption of Hostilities. Classification shall consider conduct, intent, scale, effects, recurrence, obstruction, and Material Connection to Minsk III.

2. Attribution shall distinguish among direction or operational control; knowing material support; knowing tolerance of continuing prohibited conduct; negligent failure to take required protective measures; and inability despite reasonable efforts accompanied by genuine cooperation in containment and investigation.

3. Responsibility for an initial incident shall be assessed separately from responsibility for obstruction, concealment, destruction of evidence, refusal of remediation, failure to exercise required control, or military exploitation of the incident.

4. A prohibited incident triggers immediate notification, proportionate protective measures, evidence preservation, verification or investigation, and emergency consultation.

5. A **Strategic Resumption of Hostilities** means a pattern, campaign, or coordinated series of military or other hostile acts which, by its scale, intent, effects, or operational character, demonstrates an attempt to renew general armed confrontation or defeat the central security purposes of this Agreement. An isolated incident, without those characteristics, shall not by itself constitute a Strategic Resumption of Hostilities.

6. A determination under paragraph 5 requires a reasoned independent finding on the higher evidentiary standard specified in the relevant Protocol. Except upon such a finding, no Party may treat an individual incident as terminating this Agreement or suspend obligations or benefits not materially connected to it.

7. A false-flag operation means the intentional commission, direction, concealment, or material facilitation of a prohibited incident together with fabrication, alteration, or presentation of evidence intended falsely to attribute it to another Party or protected actor. Mere error, premature accusation, or genuinely disputed attribution is not by itself a false-flag operation.

8. Notice and a reasonable opportunity to cure shall be afforded where cure is possible and delay would not create a serious risk to life, civilian safety, evidence, or essential infrastructure.

9. Remedies shall be lawful, targeted, proportionate, reversible where possible, and directed toward restoration of compliance, civilian protection, and prevention of recurrence. They may include corrective instructions, enhanced monitoring, suspension of a materially connected benefit, public attribution, exclusion from a particular implementing function, escrow or other protected arrangements for victim compensation, and referral to a competent legal process.

10. No remedy may constitute collective punishment, target civilians for the conduct of authorities or armed actors, validate territorial acquisition by force, or suspend a Protected Obligation.

11. The Parties shall not escalate militarily in response to an alleged violation while verification, emergency consultation, or provisional protective measures remain reasonably capable of addressing the immediate risk, without prejudice to lawful self-defence under international law.

Article 22 — Dispute Resolution and Parallel Processes

1. A dispute concerning interpretation, implementation, certification, technical application, or alleged non-compliance shall first be referred to technical consultation through the relevant body or the Joint Incident-Response Centre.

2. If technical consultation does not resolve the matter promptly, either Party may request mediation, good offices, or confidential facilitation by a mutually accepted intermediary.

3. A dispute requiring specialized factual or technical assessment may be referred to an independent Expert Panel. Its determination is binding only where this Agreement, a Protocol, or a written submission expressly provides.

4. Categories of disputes identified in a Protocol may be submitted to arbitration under procedures agreed in advance by the Parties. Arbitration shall not determine sovereignty, alter territorial status, or decide matters reserved to a competent criminal court or tribunal.

5. A primarily political dispute, a dispute incapable of technical or legal determination, or a matter requiring a new interstate commitment shall be referred to the State Negotiating Council.

6. Where an urgent risk exists, the Joint Incident-Response Centre, International Monitoring and Verification Mission, or competent adjudicative body may recommend or order, within its mandate, provisional protective measures necessary to preserve life, evidence, civilian infrastructure, or the practical availability of a remedy. Such measures do not prejudge final responsibility.

7. No Party or Participating Institution shall retaliate against a person, community, witness, monitor, humanitarian worker, official, or institution for making a complaint, providing information, seeking a remedy, or participating in a dispute-resolution process.

8. Dispute resolution under this Article does not displace or condition the distinct justice and recovery processes governed by Article 13. Delay or disagreement in one of those processes shall not automatically suspend another.

Part V — Legal Operation and Final Provisions

Article 23 — Status, Hierarchy, and Technical Revision of Instruments

1. The legal hierarchy of Minsk III is:

a. this Framework Agreement;
b. Binding Protocols;
c. Technical Annexes and Schedules;
d. Implementation Decisions; and
e. non-binding Implementation Handbook guidance.

2. The Framework governs constitutional purpose and legal limits. Protocols establish field-specific substantive obligations and institutional mandates. Annexes and Schedules implement them through technical, operational, cartographic, procedural, site-specific, or time-bound detail. Implementation Decisions apply existing authority to defined circumstances.

3. The Framework prevails over every subordinate instrument. A Protocol prevails over an Annex, Schedule, or Implementation Decision within its subject matter. An Annex or Schedule prevails over an Implementation Decision within its technical subject matter. Handbook guidance is non-binding unless expressly incorporated into a binding instrument.

4. No subordinate instrument may create an unagreed political bargain; alter sovereignty, territorial status, or internationally recognized borders; diminish a Protected Obligation; expand a mandate; or amend, suspend, or derogate from a superior instrument without express authority under this Agreement.

5. A Protocol, Annex, or Schedule may enter into force or be activated independently only where this Agreement expressly provides and the instrument is legally and technically separable from inactive instruments.

6. Partial suspension shall be confined to the obligation, benefit, territory, mechanism, or phase materially connected to a certified violation, impossibility, or failure. It shall not affect obligations that remain capable of performance or are protected by their nature.

7. If a provision is held invalid, inapplicable, or incapable of performance, the remainder remains effective to the greatest extent possible. The Competent Body shall pursue a lawful substitute that best preserves the purpose of the affected instrument without altering the Agreement.

8. Technical corrections may rectify translation, transcription, clerical, cartographic, computational, or comparable errors through the relevant Annex procedure. They shall not alter territorial status, legal rights, substantive obligations, institutional competence, geographic scope, or the allocation of burdens and benefits.

9. A non-substantive technical adjustment may be adopted through an expedited procedure only where an independent written finding confirms that it concerns method, format, measurement, classification, or operational detail. Any material operational modification or substantive change shall follow the procedure specified for the instrument concerned or the formal amendment procedure in Article 24.

10. The establishment, activation, suspension, or expiry of a later instrument does not prejudice a future negotiation track required or permitted by Minsk III.

Article 24 — Final Provisions

1. This Agreement is open for signature by Ukraine and the Russian Federation. It is subject to ratification, acceptance, or approval in accordance with the constitutional requirements of each Party.

2. This Agreement enters into force upon the deposit or exchange of both instruments expressing consent to be bound, unless the Parties specify another date in the Final Act.

3. The Parties may apply this Agreement provisionally by simultaneous written declaration deposited with the Depositary. Provisional Application shall include, at a minimum, the territorial safeguards, cessation-of-hostilities obligations, Protected Obligations, implementation architecture, incident-response arrangements, and dispute procedures necessary to preserve the Agreement’s object and purpose.

4. No reservation is permitted to this Agreement, its territorial foundations, Protected Obligations, or the institutional safeguards necessary to implement them. A declaration purporting to exclude or modify the legal effect of such a provision has no effect.

5. The Depositary, designated in the Final Act, shall maintain the authentic text, instruments expressing consent to be bound, notifications, amendments, and the official record of binding instruments.

6. The Ukrainian, Russian, and English texts are equally authentic. Where a material divergence arises, the Depositary shall promptly initiate a language-reconciliation procedure involving the Parties and, where necessary, independent legal-linguistic expertise. Pending resolution, the interpretation most consistent with this Framework, Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, civilian protection, and applicable international law shall apply.

7. This Agreement may be amended only by written agreement of the Parties following the procedure applicable to ratification or approval, except for technical corrections and non-substantive technical adjustments permitted by Article 23. An amendment shall state expressly the provision amended, its effect on related instruments, and its entry-into-force conditions.

8. The Parties shall conduct periodic reviews at intervals specified in the implementation Schedule. A review may assess performance, identify risks, and recommend adaptations; it does not itself amend, suspend, or replace a binding obligation.

9. This Agreement remains in force for an indefinite period. Either Party may withdraw only by written notice to the Depositary, taking effect no earlier than twelve months after receipt of that notice.

10. Withdrawal does not:

a. validate territorial acquisition by force or alter Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders;
b. extinguish responsibility for prior breaches;
c. terminate obligations concerning evidence preservation, missing persons, remains recovery, family reunification, property records, nuclear and critical-infrastructure safety, civilian protection, or protection of persons who participated in implementation processes; or
d. affect obligations arising independently under international law.

11. Neither withdrawal, suspension, domestic law, institutional disruption, nor a dispute concerning a later Protocol may be invoked to justify conduct contrary to this Agreement’s territorial foundations or Protected Obligations.