Russian President Vladimir Putin, 70, told 69-year-old Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that to end the Ukraine War Kiev must accept certain territories in Ukraine lost in the 11-month-old war. Shortly after the Feb. 24 invasion, Putin told Ukraine’s 44-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky that if he accepted the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk and Russian sovereignty over Crimea, he would be willing to withdraw Russian troops. Zelensky told Putin that he expected Russia to remove all of its troops from Ukrainian territory, starting the grinding war killing thousands of civilians and damaging much of Ukraine infrastructure, setting the country back decades in economic development. Zelensky decided with U.S. cash-and-arms he could take on the Russian Federation, believing he could vanquish the Russian military and evict all Russian troops.
President Joe Biden, 80, decided he would subsidize the bankrupt Ukrainian government and pay for a costly proxy war against the Kremlin. For the past 11-months, Zelensky has tried to reclaim lost sovereign territory taken by the Russian Federation in the strategic Black Sea coast. Zelensky lost about 25% of Ukraine’s sovereign territory in the first few months of the war, now finds himself scrambling to reclaim lost sovereign territory in what he calls a counteroffensive. Zelensky claims victory every time he takes back every inch of lost Ukrainian territory. But with Putin controlling much of the Black Sea coast, it would take years, if ever, for Zelensky to reclaim all the lost territory. Zelensky’s best chance of getting back most of his sovereign territory would be to enter ceasefire talks with Putin, agreeing, while talks go on, to suspend all war-making activities.
Zelensky has refused to negotiate any ceasefire talks with Putin until Putin pulls all his troops out of Ukraine, including troops in Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea. Putin annexed the Crimean Peninsula March 1, 2014 after a CIA-backed, pro-Western coup toppled the Kremlin-friendly government of Viktor Yanukoych. Once Yanukovych was chased out of Kiev, Feb. 22, 2014, Putin annexed Crimea to protect his Sevastopol naval base. Over the past nine years, Putin supported the Russian-speaking Peoples Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in their separatist movement to join the Russian Federation. When the Ukraine War started Feb. 24, 2022, Putin had Russian troops in Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea. Zelensky’s insistence on all Russian troops vacating ever inch of Ukrainian land isn’t realistic. Putin’s troops are invited to stay in Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea by Russian-speaking authorities.
Zelensky and Biden decided to wage war against the Kremlin to evict all Russian forces from Ukraine. Laying out his 10-point peace plan, Zelensky says Putin must be prosecuted first in the Hague’s International Criminal Court [ICC] before Kiev would engage in any kind of ceasefire or peace talks. Zelensky also said that Russian must remove all its troops from every inch of Ukraine’s sovereign territory and agree to pay Kiev reparations for damage to Ukraine over the last 11 months of war. Putin responded to Zelensky’s demands saying the Kiev must get realistic about any prospects for ceasefire and peace talks. “Vladimir Putin reaffirmed Russia’s openness to a serious dialogue, provided that the Kiev authorities fulfill the well-known and repeatedly voiced requirements and take into account the new territorial realities,” said the Kremlin. Zelensky rejected of Putin’s ceasefire terms means the war goes on without end, prompting Kiev to ask for more lethal U.S. and NATO weapons.
Putin “acknowledged the destructive role of the West, pumping weapons into Kiev, proving information and guidance,” the Kremlin said. Kremlin officials no longer view the Ukraine War as one against the Kiev government but against the U.S. and NATO. Zelensky accuses anyone, government official or private citizen, siding with Russia with they don’t agree 100% with Zelensky’s 10-point peace plan, demanding that no talks can take place until all Russian troops are out of Ukraine. Biden and his allies in the Western Alliance have not pressured Zelensky to reconsider his conditions for peace talks, realizing that every day that goes by, Ukriane’s infrastructure has been degraded by the Russian Federation. Putin has consolidated he war to counterattacking Ukraine for its ongoing missile campaign with the help of U.S. HIMARS systems and new Patriot Missile batteries.
If Biden and Zelensky are serious about a ceasefire and peace anytime in the foreseeable further, they need to let the U.N., perhaps in Turkey, help broker and mutually satisfying end to the Ukraine War. Subsidizing Ukraine and spending unlimited Treasry cash on the war can’t go on forever. Biden said he plans to support Ukraine indefinitely, pouring in billions to fund the government and battle the Kremlin. Biden unilaterally decided to trash U.S-Russian relations all to defend Ukraine. Biden can’t explain why he’s adopted Ukraine as the 51st state, funding a proxy war to degrade the Russian military and oust Russia from Ukraine. If the war goes on much longer, it endangers the European Continent. One miscalculation, one mistake, one mishap could send Europe into WW III. Even Biden acknowledged Oct. 7, 2022 that a nuclear Armageddo was possible with if the Ukraine War gets out of hand.
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.
