“To begin negotiations with Ukraine, Zelensky must order the withdrawal of troops from Donbas and other regions of Russia”, – said Putin’s press secretary.
This is the real answer to those who say, “Give him Donbas, and it will all end.”
This is not a war for territories. Putin did not start the war for the remnants of the Donetsk region. These were not the “root causes of the conflict.” Any option of a peace agreement, and we have seen quite a few over this year, traditionally contained only one point regarding territories. And dozens of other points related to Ukrainian sovereignty and the future of Ukraine.
Limiting Ukraine’s sovereignty, decisive influence on domestic and foreign policy, “Russkiy Mir” with the Russian language and the ROC, as well as restricting the army, dismantling military production, and prohibiting cooperation with NATO. None of these demands is achieved by the occupation of the Donetsk region. These are all political demands, and therefore, if they can be achieved, only through negotiations and the signing of a political document.
And this is exactly what Putin’s press secretary is saying today: the Kremlin views Ukraine’s surrender of its territories as a condition for the start of negotiations. Moreover, Peskov speaks not only about Donbas but also about “other regions of Russia,” which they consider to be Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
For many months, the idea has been promoted among Ukrainians that the war does not end because Zelensky does not want to surrender Kramatorsk. However, there is no basis for this. Ukraine must surrender Kramatorsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, and only after that will Putin descend to remind us again about “Russkiy Mir” and other political demands. But there is no question of ending the war in this case.
By demanding the withdrawal of the Armed Forces from Ukrainian cities as a “precondition” for negotiations, the Kremlin actually demands that we dismantle our own state with our own hands.
Obviously, this is not the path to ending the war, but an invitation to its next, even bloodier phase, where a disarmed and humiliated Ukraine will be left alone with the aggressor. Therefore, one should not deceive oneself with the illusory promises of a quick end.
Only Ukrainians themselves can stop the war, who must concentrate on defense and keeping the country from defeat. This is the only real option available to us from the first day of the war.
Let’s put an end to the topic of freezing the war at today’s line of contact, and why this won’t happen anytime soon.
“Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov shocked with a statement about readiness for negotiations only after fulfilling Moscow’s ultimatum. The Russian Federation demands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issue an order for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to retreat.”
The dictator’s spokesperson’s statement is cited by Russian mass propaganda media. Peskov stated that for Russia and Ukraine to move to full-fledged peace negotiations, Zelensky must order the Ukrainian Armed Forces to cease fire and leave “RF regions.”
From the Kremlin representative’s statement, it follows that now the aggressor wants the Defense Forces to withdraw not only from Donbas but also from the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, which President Vladimir Putin “included” in the constitution of Russia.
And here you might think: Well, who cares what he says, none of this will happen anyway.
And that’s true. But let’s understand why he voiced this nonsense.
You will find the answer in the following FT material:
“Russian commanders convinced Putin that their troops could fully capture Donbas by autumn. After gaining control over Donbas, Putin will not stop and will present new territorial demands. Putin’s real goal is at least all of Left-bank Ukraine, including Kyiv and Odesa,” reports the Financial Times, citing two people who directly contacted Putin, two informed individuals, and data from Ukrainian intelligence.
In other words, the panicked old man really convinces himself that the military will achieve “SVO goals,” which they couldn’t in four and a half years, but will somehow be able to in a few months. But when a person realizes everything is going to hell, they no longer think rationally, they think emotionally. The emotions are clear, and the risks to his power after the war keeps him in a vicious circle of internal fears.
But why do the military feed such nonsense to the disgraced old man, you may ask?
Because they are also in trouble. The fact is, all these Gerasimovs and others fed Putin reports about their active advancements, which turned into “territorial acquisitions on credit.” The most famous is Kupiansk, but there are other false reports upwards about territories supposedly captured, which are de facto under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
For example, the 3rd Army Corps is currently repelling assaults in an area that on Russian maps is marked as their deep rear. And such a situation is very common at the front.
And now think about how these generals, who submitted false reports, will agree to a freeze at the existing lines of contact? What will they do? Ask the Armed Forces to kindly retreat according to the mismatched maps drawn under a narcotic haze? It’s clear that this will become a problem in negotiations, and heads will roll among the generals who provided false data, as now the parties cannot agree on the existing line of contact, disrupting the war’s cessation.
And that’s why Russian generals are lying to the bunker grandpa about them capturing Ukraine, saying to wait two or three weeks/months, just to delay their doom. The bunker grandpa, living in the grip of his fears, agrees to continue the war despite the objective situation, while Peskov voices all this nonsense on air when z-war correspondents howl about the mismatch between the Kremlin’s desires and reality, and economists don’t know what to do with the financing of the Russian Federation in 2026.
This is the whole reason why the war continues. Because cowardly old men can’t admit reality, and they try to delay the reckoning, neglecting the actual state of the Russian economy. Because their own skin is more important than the state of the Russian Federation.
Therefore, Peskov’s statements should be regarded like the “Russian warship” and sent in the same direction. It’s not enough for us to discuss statements based on the fears of Russian old men who have driven themselves into a stalemate.
