This week, the U.S. held separate talks with Ukrainian and Russian delegations over three days in Saudi Arabia. A group of countries known as a “coalition of the willing” met in Paris for a summit. Fighting has intensified across the front lines.
The U.S. has reached separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia to halt attacks on ports and ensure safe passage for commercial shipping in the Black Sea. At the talks in Riyadh, Russia demanded full control over four Ukrainian regions — those of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — it doesn’t fully control. Russia has said some Western sanctions must be lifted before it begins a maritime ceasefire with Ukraine. Politico has listed seven bargaining chips Trump has given Putin that could have been otherwise used to pressure Russia.
Russia continues attacks on civilian infrastructure, and fighting continued to rage along the frontline battlefields. On Tuesday, Russia launched 139 drones and a ballistic missile at Ukraine, 112 drones missed target. Russia is preparing a fresh offensive on Sumy and Kharkiv regions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in an interview with France’s Le Figaro newspaper published on Wednesday.
Ukrainian troops have recaptured territory in Kharkiv region and a village in Luhansk. Eighty-two per cent of Ukrainians are resolved to keep fighting even if the U.S. halts all aid, a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found. More than two-thirds of Ukrainians trust President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, according to a poll by the same organization.
Putin vows to “finish off” Ukraine.
In a series of remarks on Thursday, Russian leader Vladimir Putin suggested Ukraine be placed under a form of UN- and U.S.-led temporary administration, Russian news agencies reported.
Putin said he believes U.S. President Donald Trump was sincere about ending the war in Ukraine. He added that Russia is ready to work with all countries eager to “settle the root causes of the Ukraine conflict” to achieve a peace settlement.
“In principle, of course, a temporary administration could be introduced in Ukraine under the auspices of the UN, the United States, European countries and our partners,” Putin was quoted as saying. “This would be in order to hold democratic elections and bring to power a capable government enjoying the trust of the people and then to start talks with them about a peace treaty.”
“Curators from Europe” have convinced Kyiv to continue fighting “to the last Ukrainian” in order to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, Putin said.
He also claimed that Russian forces have the “strategic initiative” along the Ukrainian front line. “Not long ago I said we’d grind [Ukraine] down — now there are reasons to believe that we will finish them off,” Putin said.