Even if Volodymyr Zelensky agrees to accept Vladimir Putin's demands - and he does not - it is unlikely that he will receive the support of his parliament or win a referendum. Many Ukrainian soldiers would be disgusted and furious and would ask themselves what they paid for all these sacrifices in the war. The country would be drawn into political conflicts in this scenario, writes Politico.
The author of the article Jamie Detmer believes that Vladimir Putin will not agree to a ceasefire because he has not given up his original goal - the surrender of Kiev.
Putin sees himself as the successor to Peter the Great, he even has a bronze statue of the 18th-century tsar in his office. And he believes that the prolonged fighting in Ukraine will not only bring him victory on the front line, but will also undermine Donald Trump’s willingness to intervene.
Their two-hour phone call on Monday did not change anything regarding the war. We are already hearing clear messages from Washington that the country will withdraw from the talks if peace is not reached soon.
The Kremlin is hoping for exactly that kind of reaction from Trump. Putin and his entourage understand Trump’s pattern of talking a lot but losing focus when discussions drag on.
But why would anyone expect Putin to be serious about ending the war? Russia is always playing catch-up, a tactic it has used repeatedly when it engages in negotiations, and it has little interest in concluding them except on its own terms.
The Kremlin’s top priority is clear: it doesn’t want a ceasefire before it gets concessions that would spell the end of a democratic and independent Ukraine.
Both Trump and J.D. Vance argue that this is a European mess and America should never have gotten involved. Why should Putin negotiate when he can postpone negotiations indefinitely and wait for the U.S. to withdraw? It’s a perfectly logical proposition, as former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink admitted in explaining her decision to resign last month, “because the policy from the beginning of the administration was to put pressure on the victim, Ukraine, not the aggressor, Russia.”