Under pressure from the White House, 44-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dropped his unrealistic condition that 70-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin be removed before Ukraine considers ceasefire or peace talks. Treading softly on a thorny issue, 45-year-old National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, a big backer of the U.S. proxy war in Ukraine, prevailed on Zelensky to accept the fact that Putin isn’t going anywhere. Inside the Zelensky’s inner circle, Kiev wants no part of peace talks until they’ve recaptured lost sovereign territory over the eight months of war. Zelensky rejected Putin’s overture in March to end the conflict by recognizing Russian sovereignty over Crimea and independence of Donetsk and Luhansk. Zelensky opted for war instead against the Russian Federation, accepting unlimited U.S. cash-and-weapons to battle the Kremlin.
Zelensky’s eight-month long war resulted in Putin taking the entire Black Sea coast and all its strategic ports, essentially land-locking Kiev. Zelensky knew at the Feb. 24 outset of war that he did not control Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea, yet chose, with U.S. aid, to take on the Russian Federation. Biden decided to take the war further announcing in Warsaw, Poland March 26 that Putin could no longer remain as Russian President. No matter how much the State Department walked back Biden’s gaffes, 69-year-old Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in Ramstein, Germany April 26 that the aim of the U.S. mission was to degrade the Russian military to the point it could no longer wage war. So, the Ukraine War morphed into a U.S. proxy war using Ukrainian troop to topple Putin’s government. Since then, Zelensky has consistently lost sovereign territory to the Russian Federation.
Getting Zelensky to acknowledge that he must eventually negotiate a ceasefire and peace talks with Putin doesn’t sit well with Kiev. Without U.S. funding the Kiev government and the war, Ukraine would have settled the conflict long ago. Zelensky keeps going battling Russia because the U.S. keeps supplying him cash-and-weapons. Sullivan’s trip to Kiev was designed to give Ukraine PR cover about its willingness to negotiate an end to the conflict. Zelensky can now say that Putin wants to continue the war, not meeting any of Kiev’s conditions for ending the conflict. Kiev expects Russia to pull out its troops from every inch of Ukrainian sovereign territory. Zelensky knows that those are unacceptable conditions because, before the Feb. 24 war, Russian had forces in Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea. Zelensky has showed no willingness to compromise on Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea.
Playing PR games as to who’s open to ending the conflict doesn’t resolve the continue risks to the European Continent keeping the war going. Threats of nuclear war and escalation don’t bother Kiev, only responsible members of the European Union. No one in the EU or NATO wants a shooting war with the Russian Federation. Ukraine has not been given any troops by one NATO country, including the U.S., fearing a deadly escalation to WW III. Zelensky isn’t concerned about WW III, because, as far as he’s concerned , WW III has already started in Ukraine. “That doesn’t mean they need to go to the negotiating table now. We don’t even think right now is the right time based on what Russia is doing,” said an unnamed U.S. official. Biden has said before that the time for negotiation is when Kiev reclaims it’s sovereign territory to have more leverage in any neutral peace talks.
No one knows how long it will take Ukraine to get back all the lost sovereign territory under Zelensky’s watch. What’s known for sure is the longer the war drags on the more chances of miscalculation that could lead of major escalation. Biden’s White House seems reluctant to bring the war to a peaceful conclusion. Zelensky knows his own country is bankrupt from the war, not concerned about the runaway inflation and global recession caused by the war. Zelensky has set his negotiating posture, telling Putin he must remove all Russian forces from Ukrainian territory. Putin had forces in Donetsk, Luhansk and Crime before the Feb. 24, and he’s not likely to capitulate to Kiev’s demands for peace. EU and NATO officials see no problems in letting Putin retain Donetsk, Luhansk and Crime to end the war. Kiev wants every inch of sovereign territory returned to Ukraine.
Zelensky should have no say in when and how ceasefire talks take place to resolve the Ukraine conflict. Kiev’s government is bankrupt, requiring full funding by the U.S. government. How can Zelensky call the shots when he has no resources other than what’s given to him by the White House? Biden national security team should set the parameters for a ceasefire and peace talks, not rely on Zelensky. Zelensky has no problems accepting billions from the U.S. government indefinitely. His government is bankrupt, can’t pay basic civil salaries without U.S. cash. Former U.S. Amb. to Ukraine under Trump Kurt Volker, thinks the U.S. should not push Ukraine to negotiate. Volker thinks that Putin needs more military defeats before he’d be realistic about compromising with Kiev’s peace demands. Volker misreads the fact that Putin won’t fold his tent anytime soon.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
