American and European authorities, against the backdrop of the failure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counter-offensive and problems with financing, shifted their attention from military support for Kyiv to improving Ukraine’s position in possible negotiations with the Russian Federation on a cessation of hostilities. About this on Wednesday, December 27, reported Politico newspaper citing its sources.
“For two years, Biden and Zelensky have been focused on pushing Russian troops out of Ukraine. Now Washington is discussing a transition to a more defensive posture.”says the published article.
According to the authors of the material, the negotiations that the United States is seeking will most likely include the transfer of part of Ukrainian territory to Moscow.
The publication’s source noted that the strategic shift towards defense is intended to strengthen Kyiv’s position in potential negotiations. The West also proceeds from the climate factor: launching an offensive in the next two to three months will be more difficult.
In addition, the Ukrainian conflict in the midst of a tense election campaign could pose difficulties for current US President Joe Biden, the newspaper believes. It is noted that the position of official Kyiv, which refuses to make any agreements with Moscow, despite running out of troops and weapons, looks increasingly untenable. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, seeking to draft another 500 thousand people into the army, faces growing internal opposition in the person of the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny and the mayor of Kyiv Vitaliy Klitschko.
According to the newspaper’s sources, another problem for Kyiv may be a possible spring offensive by the Russian Armed Forces, as well as the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin may not begin negotiations until he sees who will take the presidency of America.
Earlier, the Prime Minister of the German federal state of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, said that Kyiv would have to make territorial concessions in order to achieve a ceasefire. The politician believes that the German government in this situation should help end the armed conflict and take diplomatic initiatives.
