The Kremlin wants to carve out a large piece of Ukraine and has rejected any agreement that would be acceptable to Ukrainians.
The war in Ukraine will not end today.
On Tuesday, a US delegation met with Russian president Vladimir Putin and his senior aides in Moscow. Despite high hopes of reaching a consensus and ending the deadliest conflict in Europe in over 80 years, Russian officials said that there is still work to be done.
Russia Refuses a Deal
US special envoy Steve Witkoff, accompanied by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, met with Putin, Putin’s top foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, and other Kremlin officials.
A Russian rejection of the US peace proposal was always a possibility. Regardless of the agreement reached between the United States and Ukraine, Russia would have to agree for the war to end. Right now, the Russian military maintains the strategic initiative on the battlefield. Despite extremely high losses on the ground, the Russian military is on the offensive. It recently seized Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub in the Donbas, after more than a year of fierce combat. Russia’s current momentum on the battlefield is giving the Kremlin an advantage in the negotiations.
The Kremlin at the very least wants to carve out a large piece of Ukraine, preferably containing the Donbas and Ukraine’s southern provinces that border the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
“The territorial issue, naturally, is the most important for us, and for the Americans too. A compromise option has not yet been found, but some American developments look more or less acceptable, but they need to be discussed,” Ushakov said on Wednesday.
But giving up hundreds of square miles of territory to Russia after so much struggle and casualties will be a hard sell for the Ukrainians. Until very recently, the public Ukrainian position was that all of the occupied territories, including Crimea, which fell in 2014, would be returned to Kyiv as part of any peace settlement.
“Some formulations that were proposed to us are acceptable to us,” the Russian foreign policy aide said.
“We are no closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine, and there is much work to be done,” Ushakov said.
Ukraine Waits for a Breakthrough
Now Ukraine waits for the next steps in the negotiations between the United States and Russia.
During a news conference on Tuesday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine now waits for the right signal to proceed with the final proposals.
“We will receive certain signals. If the signals work, if it is fair play with our partners, then perhaps we will meet with the American delegation very soon,” Zelenskyy said, adding his willingness to meet with Trump.
The current plan now contains 20 points after comprehensive talks between the United States, Ukraine, NATO, and the European Union in Florida and Switzerland. The original peace proposal that was pitched by the White House had 28 points. There were concerns among Ukraine and the Europeans that the original plan favored Russia too much.
Zelenskyy understands that the future of his country lies in the current peace negotiations. A weak agreement will jeopardize Ukraine’s future. But a strong agreement with security guarantees will give Ukraine the necessary assurances to walk into the future with an enviable peace of mind.
About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
Image: Shutterstock.com / Fotosr52
