Ukraine is open to discussing neutrality with Russia as long as it gets security guarantees but is not willing to cede a “single inch of territory,” an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.
“Surely, we are ready for a diplomatic solution,” Ihor Zhovkva, Zelensky’s deputy chief of staff, told Bloomberg. Zhovka said a precondition for talks is an “immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of Russian troops,” although Ukrainian and Russian officials have already held three rounds of negotiations.
Zhovkva said in order for Ukraine to declare neutrality, it would need security guarantees from the US and other Western countries. “Only security guarantees from Russia will not be enough,” he said.
Russia has said that it would stop its offensive if Ukraine became neutral, recognized Crimea as Russian territory, and recognized the independence of the Donbas republics of Donestk and Luhansk. But Zhovka said Ukraine “will not trade our territories — not a single inch.”
On Monday, Zelensky signaled some flexibility on these issues, saying Ukraine was ready to “discuss with Russia the future of Crimea and Donbas.” The Ukrainian leader also said he’s “cooled down” on the idea of Ukraine joining NATO, although Zhovka said Ukraine is still “aspiring” to join the military alliance.
Also on Wednesday, a senior US embassy official in Israel said that Washington would not pressure Zelensky to accept Russia’s terms, according to The Times of Israel. The official said that the US supports the diplomacy efforts of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who recently met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss negotiations with Ukraine.
After Bennett’s meeting with Putin, Israeli officials told Axios that Putin made a proposal to Zelensky that would be difficult to accept but doesn’t include regime change and allows Ukraine to keep its sovereignty. One Israeli official said Zelensky is now at a crossroads and has to choose whether to accept the deal and stop the war or reject it and risk a Russian escalation.
Very good. Dont give Putin anything and take back your stolen territory. Fight fight fight.
Who is fighting? Other than fanatics with modifie crooked cross — nobody else. Most tying to get out of the country,
Yeah, better keep fighting and sacrificing your people so the Russians don’t gain control of the bio-weapons labs that don’t exist that we just admitted to having in the Ukraine. Congratulations, Zelensky- you just played your whole nation. And for what?
You need to see this video, compliments of GoldSilver, that explains everything. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6hIlfHWaGU
Also, from the Scott Horton show: https://original.antiwar.com/scott/2022/03/02/the-history-behind-the-russia-ukraine-war/
Well, he is talking before tommorows meetings of foreign affairs, Then a ceasefire is over,
The territory in question was historically Russian and Russians live there as the majority.
If Russian areas want to separate from Ukraine, they will.
yeah, I bet you were all for Chechan sovereignty
The Chechens were divided on that, even moreso when they realized the poor quality of the separatist leadership, which was little better than a terrorist mafia.
The US stirred that hornets’ nest, and the Chechens remember.
I don’t believe it is a clear majority. I read, roughly, a third Russian, a third Ukrainian, and a third slav. Ethnicity that is, politically, I think you are right. Either way, it seems to be a civil war divided by the political lines. As usual, all asshole nations seem to think a civil war is an invitation to join in, wherever it is.
Its not a clear majority outside Donbass. Many Ukrainians do not share allegiance with Kiev, however.
The heavy AFU and especially neo-Nazi presence in East Ukraine would not have left a positive impression.
They just doomed Ukraine’s military. Russia will now initiate phase 2 of the operation: the destruction (or surrender) of the Ukrainian army in eastern Ukraine, the fall of Mariupol, the fall of Kiev. Phase 3 will bring in the Russian reserve forces currently on the border, and the push to Lvov in western Ukraine.
Zelensky wants to surrender- and accept every one of Russia’s conditions- but his handlers in the West won’t let him and now he’s stuck between saving his nation and becoming the victim of a ‘Russian ambush’. He’s been saying for days he’s wanting this to end, so why hasn’t he done it? *They* won’t let him.
Zhovkva said in order for Ukraine to declare neutrality, it would need security guarantees from the US and other Western countries. “Only security guarantees from Russia will not be enough,” he said.
How is that different from being a part of NATO?
Why would Mister Z ever want to stop the war when the US has voted to give him billions to keep the war going? This support of the war by the US and NATO only makes the Russians more determined to get the job done faster, before those billions can have their full effect. In the meantime we are throwing the worlds economy under the bus and out of balance with all our sanctions which will probably hurt the US as much or more then the Russians.
Our “representatives” should worry?
How about Ukraine gets to keep it’s original borders, and Russia and Ukraine sign a peace treating where both countries recognize the other’s soviegnty and agree to stay out of each other’s internal affairs?
Russia is focusing on the east of Ukraine. Ukraine has no air force and no air defense. Inside of a week, the remnants of the 50-100,000 Ukrainian army in the Donbass (shown in blue below) will be captured or destroyed, and all of Eastern Ukraine will be under Russian control and Kiev under siege. The war of words will give way to the facts on the ground.
Making your own adjustment for biases, compare the Russian-sourced map below to those seen on CNN/Fox– click on it for a clearer image.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b34beb6e4b03fa01d8c3ee632ab48fac9a54ea66ae3d4d2a918c93a2975e4b66.jpg
Then there is the clear east/west cultural division in Ukraine as seen in the vote results shown below — click on it for a clearer image.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7a29c1066458d2edb12c6ce1debcdb5f15d8f46d03336f6787c31a95f5cd6279.png
There’s propaganda, and then there’s reality. You make the call.
Absolutely spot in. Correct.
Russia is well aware, but media is not mentioning it, that in the last 8 years 15,000 Russian speaking Ukrainians have died in the Donbas. Shelled by the oh so wonderful government in Kiev, with support from the Azov Battalion (who we have also funded). If Zelensky wants to be neutral, then he should guarantee the autonomy of the citizens in the Donbas, by preventing further shelling of those areas. We want to make sure that does not happen. So, there will be skirmishes, perhaps actions to make the warm water base a mess. If Afghanistan proves anything, it is the MIC will not go quietly into the night and allow a comprehensive peace. If that were the case, Biden would have sat down with Putin and Zelensky to bring about an accord. He didn’t and he will not. Russia is the old/new boogeyman. Raytheon, Lockheed, et al, are clinking their glasses in glee.
You are correct.
One week to defeat Ukraine is being a Russian military fanboy; this war can easily drag into April. The only significant move is the Kiev Convoy has finally dispersed, but Kiev is not encircled.
The initially soft Russian approach gave the AFU and paramilitaries time to regroup with most of their materiale, especially into civilian areas. So Putin squandered 8 years of intel gathering and the element of surprise.
At the same time, the real war is still economic. NATO attempts to decouple Russia from the global economy, ignored that the rest of the world isn’t the West and never liked US enforcement of EU hegemony, especially in Africa which still remembers Gadaffi.
While NATO may initially have wanted a longer war to crash the Russian economy, as cracks appear in NATO economies, Russia may not mind a longer war either, nor do they have much choice now.
Russia can also still cut Europe off from natural gas, at any time.
Humanitarian concerns may dissuade Putin from dropping that hammer this winter. As spring turns to summer, that courtesy can end. Europe can also probably forget about refilling their gas stockpiles for next winter from Russia.
NATO economies are already weakened by COVID-1984 and the WEF Reset, and may end up with more Reset than planned.
The Eurasian/Asian reality can reset the Reset and instead of being dragged further underneath Western EU hegemony, will move further out from under Western EU hegemony.
Time is again on Russia’s side, though the margin of advantage is narrow.
Spring thaw will create mobility problems for Russian armour. Since the Ukrainians are dug-in and limited in counter-attack capabilities, reduced mobility will not affect them as greatly.
Reuters reports almost all 150 000 pre-staged Russian forces are no in Ukraine. Forbes claims up t 190000 Russian troops are in Ukraine, and Russian law forbids use of conscripts in Ukraine.
Neither are enough to secure Ukraine.
In the days leading up to the war, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was confident Russia did not have the troop numbers or key equipment needed for a full scale invasion. Which apart from the invasion actually occurring, was an accurate assessment as the counter-invasion also stalled out.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-has-deployed-nearly-100-pct-pre-staged-forces-into-ukraine-us-official-2022-03-07/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2022/03/10/does-russia-have-enough-troops-to-take-ukraine-heres-where-its-manpower-stands—and-why-its-recruiting-foreign-soldiers/?sh=6b2700df4d82
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vladimir-putin-sanctions-ukraine-invasion-b2000899.html
I’ll own up to it. I am a Putin fanboy. I consider him the preeminent statesman in the world today. And Xi the preeminent technocratic leader.
If not a week, then a month. In any event, the Neocon triumphalists have met their match, and it is a pure pleasure to watch the beginning of the end of their “Empire of Lies” with its Wolfowitz Doctrine, Oded Yinon Plan, and Brzezinski’s “Grand Chessboard”.
This war is regrettable but necessary. And a tragedy, as all wars are, for the Ukrainians/Novorossiyans — and others. But it is the darkness before the dawn of a multipolar world.
Freedom is not free.
Well this should be fun.
– WEF Globalist Reset vs. Eurasian/Asian Multipolarity –
Fight!
Wonder when the Globalists will figured out their WEF Reset is inconsistent with winning hardball economic warfare…
Russian terms will get worse, as it makes progress on the ground.
It is making progress. It is slower than expected in Western media, but it is steady.
The US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, on a tour of the region, made it clear that Russian progress is inevitable. This is not a subject for partisan opinion, it is just hard reality.
Get real, or things just keep getting worse.
Russia needs to stop doploand pound Ukraine into submission, until they are pleading for mercy and will give up anything Russia wants. All this does is make Russia look weak.
re: a precondition for talks is an “immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of Russian troops,”
Kuleba tried that ceasefire thing with Lavrov in Turkey today. It didn’t fly. Russia is going for victory, along with the elimination of neo-Nazis in Ukraine.