The war in Ukraine is coming to an end, writes the „Reuters“ agency, indicating that the next 4-5 months on the front will be critical.
It is the fighting in the coming months that will determine how Ukraine and Russia will enter negotiations when Donald Trump takes office as president of the United States.
The AP agency reported that on his first day as president, Trump wants to get Kiev and Moscow to the negotiating table. The Republican will take office as president of the United States (for the second time) in January.
„This winter is a critical moment. "Right now we will determine the positions of the two sides in the negotiations," said a senior Ukrainian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, who said the hot phase of the war was coming to an end.
Kiev is also waiting to see Trump's appointments to key government positions, including the foreign ministry and defense. Ukraine does not expect to be invited to NATO anytime soon and also acknowledges that there is a huge risk - that Washington will reduce or stop military aid.
“I hope the Biden administration will try to avoid this risk by accelerating the pace of (its) assistance,“ the official in Kiev said. At the same time, Kiev is finding it hard to hide its disappointment with the Biden administration, whose steps to help Ukraine have been weak and insufficient, especially over the past year.
“The mood in Ukraine is quite gloomy. "You can see the growing frustration in Zelensky's recent remarks," said a senior diplomatic source in Kiev. The Ukrainian official expressed skepticism that Biden would offer Ukraine anything meaningful as a parting deal, such as lifting restrictions on long-range strikes.