Russia seeks to prolong peace talks to strengthen its position - media
Kyiv • UNN
Russia seeks to delay negotiations in order to occupy more Ukrainian territories. The Kremlin hopes that the West will force Kyiv to give Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions to Russia.
The Russian Federation seeks to delay peace negotiations with Ukraine in order to seize more territory and secure a strategic advantage in relations with the United States. This is reported by The Moscow Times, writes UNN.
Time is on our side now, and we will try to get the most out of it
Despite Putin's statement that he agrees with Donald Trump's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, he stressed important "nuances", hinting that Moscow would insist on its maximalist demands before agreeing to a ceasefire.
According to the media, the Kremlin hopes that Washington will either tacitly turn a blind eye to Russia's further offensive on the battlefield, or put pressure on Kyiv to completely withdraw its troops from the regions occupied by Russia, including Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
In particular, Moscow claims that Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions are Russian territory, despite the fact that none of these regions is under the full control of the Russian army. However, Russia intends to secure control over these territories at all costs, as Putin cannot politically afford to lose them after their status was enshrined in the Russian constitution.
The constitution does not have a mechanism for regions to secede from Russia. We need the entire Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Either Trump will influence them to leave, or we will be told: "Enter into protracted negotiations and in parallel use military force to establish control." This is the worst option for us, because forcing rivers is always a painful operation
In addition, according to a source at The Moscow Times, the Russian Federation may try to seize part of another Ukrainian region, such as Dnipropetrovsk or Sumy, and offer an exchange for control over Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
We hope to find an option that will not require us to force the Dnipro River and storm Kherson. I really hope it doesn't come to that. It will mean thousands of losses for us
He also added that from the point of view of military mathematics, the Russian grouping cannot now claim anything more than taking the Sloviansk-Dnipropetrovsk agglomeration.
Physically, our grouping in its current form is not able to go anywhere further or do anything more. It is, of course, impossible to reach Odesa. But we don't need it
Reminder
Earlier, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Putin said to businessmen that negotiations would be difficult, calling on them to prepare for a long war.
Analysts predict that Putin and other Kremlin officials are likely to continue to convey to the domestic audience that the war in Ukraine remains protracted for Russia and that Russia will not achieve peace in Ukraine soon.