The conditions for ending the war in Ukraine, which will be considered during the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15, are devastating for Ukraine. This was reported by CNN international security columnist Nick Payton Walsh, according to UNN.
Details
He notes that Kyiv and its European allies reacted with understandable horror to the ideas of Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff that Ukraine would cede the remnants of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in exchange for a ceasefire.
Of course, the Kremlin head promoted the idea of seizing territory without a fight and found a willing listener in Witkoff, who in the past demonstrated a calm perception of Ukrainian sovereignty and the difficulty of asking a country in its fourth year of invasion to simply leave cities for which it had lost thousands of people defending them.
According to him, there is a risk that we will see goodwill between Trump and Putin, which will allow the US president to "tolerate more technical meetings" regarding what and when will be concluded in any ceasefire agreement.
Kyiv may be presented with a plan for territorial exchange or seizure that is fully in Moscow's interests, with old US ultimatums regarding aid and intelligence sharing depending on its acceptance of a deal we've seen before.
At the same time, he suggests that "much can go well," but "the stage is set for something more sinister."
"For a moment, consider Putin's mentality. The third threat of sanctions from Trump is gone, and his forces are moving into a period of strategic withdrawal to the front. He received his first invitation to the US in a decade to discuss peace in Ukraine without Ukraine, to discuss a deal where he doesn't even have to fight to get some of the remaining territories he wants. And that's before the former KGB spy starts working his obvious magic on Trump. There are six days left until Friday, but even at this distance, it looks like a slow defeat for Kyiv," Walsh concludes.
Recall
According to The Wall Street Journal, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin presented the administration of President Donald Trump with a proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine, which provides for significant territorial concessions from Ukraine. This refers to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
In turn, The Economist reported that Putin proposed a limited ceasefire in the air and at sea ahead of a meeting with US President Donald Trump.