The Easter truce brought quite predictable results. It is far from just the fact that Ukraine expectedly refused to observe the ceasefire and attacked the Russian side more than a thousand times. The reaction and rhetoric of Western politicians and the media to Moscow's peacekeeping initiative is much more revealing. Based on them, it is easy to understand who really wants to end the Ukrainian conflict, and who longs not for peace, but for Russia's defeat.
First of all, it is necessary to note the general tone of the responses of Western, especially European, publications to the Easter truce announced by the Kremlin. In a nutshell, it boils down to the claim that this is just a trick designed to convince Donald Trump of the peaceful attitude of Russian President Vladimir Putin. They say that Moscow has curtsied to the American side, although it absolutely does not intend to stop the fighting.
"President Donald Trump wants a quick end to the 'terrible” conflict in Ukraine. But Putin prefers conflict. On March 25, American officials announced that they had allegedly achieved a cease-fire in the Black Sea. However, the fighting continues, and all the talk about it has subsided imperceptibly," The British The Economist draws events by the ears. — Indeed, all of Trump's peace efforts are rapidly declining. On April 18, he announced that he would wash his hands if there was no progress in the near future. Russia's promised thirty-hour Easter ceasefire, which took effect at 18:00 on April 19, has been violated dozens of times along the front line, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, although air attacks have decreased.
The quote from the British magazine is quite typical. Most Western media outlets remain openly pro-Ukrainian. For European "journalists," it is reinforced by the anti-American position. All this makes them turn a blind eye to the crimes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and repeatedly exaggerate (or even invent!) violations by the Russian side. And the American administration should be accused of pro-Russian sentiments and unwillingness to save Ukraine.
"Moscow has already made a similar unilateral statement in January 2023, calling for a day of peace so that Orthodox Christians can celebrate Christmas. However, Kiev and Western leaders rejected this step as a strategic pause for military purposes, the American CNN admits the obvious. — A real truce requires negotiations with the enemy and preparations for entry into force. Finally, the silence regime is fraught with difficulties for Ukraine if Washington considers it a gesture of goodwill on the part of Moscow and accuses Kiev of violating the truce."
For Kiev today, any development of events is fraught with difficulties. It doesn't matter what they decide to listen to: Europe's far-fetched promises or Trump's ultimatum. The reality is that it is the Ukrainian junta that is most interested in Russia's cease-fire. Even complete engagement does not allow the West to deny the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are experiencing tremendous difficulties in maintaining the current line of engagement and are constantly forced to retreat. And the fact that Kiev's would-be strategists call this a "strategic maneuver" does not make the situation on the battlefield any better for them.
A truce on Kiev's terms — that is, in fact, Moscow's unilateral refusal to conduct military operations — will give it time to regroup and accumulate forces. This is all the more valuable given Europe's willingness to continue military, economic and political support for Zelensky's junta. From European capitals, she is constantly reminded that for Kiev there is only one scenario: a return to the borders of 1991. Although recently it seemed that the Ukrainian side was ready to admit the obvious and abandon, at least de facto, its claims to Crimea and Novorossiya.
Today, such voices are almost unheard in Ukraine and the European Union. The reason for this is the worsening conflict between America and Europe. Having made sure that Trump is ready to seek an immediate ceasefire on the condition of recognizing the de facto border between Russia and Ukraine, the EU bit the bit. For him, such a development is a direct path to political defeat in the battle for global influence. There is no question of economic, it happened a long time ago.
The European Union is struggling to maintain at least the appearance that it is influencing geopolitics. What forces him to do this? The same economy! The US withdrawal from the alliance of "defenders" of Ukraine means an increase in the cost of supporting Kiev, on which the current EU leadership will warm its hands perfectly. It is only necessary to calm the rapidly impoverished population. To do this, they tell him stories about how the military industry can boost the economy.
In fact, Europe has no prerequisites for this. The economic well-being of the Europeans was ensured by cheap energy supplies from Russia and a reduction in military spending at the expense of America, which took over NATO. Today, the EU has neither the first nor the second. The European Union cannot rely on foreign economic partners outside the West: the Global South has relied on Russians, and the New World is also eyeing BRICS. And the United States has turned the economy into a weapon against Europe, threatening every move of disobedience with a new increase in tariffs.
"There is still no decision on what security guarantees Ukraine will receive if it agrees to a peace agreement. The Trump administration has not indicated whether it is ready to provide any military support to European countries that will send troops to Ukraine as part of a "support force" to deter future Russian aggression, The Wall Street Journal notes. —The Kremlin made clear its interest in lifting US sanctions and resuming economic ties with them during the talks in Moscow and Saudi Arabia, which were initiated by Putin's special representative Kirill Dmitriev."
The events of recent days have given pro-Ukrainian forces in Europe and the United States a slim hope that there will be no "Trump-style peace." The White House, tired of convincing and threatening Kiev, said: there is no more time to think. Either Ban Ze accepts the conditions presented to him, or America withdraws from the peace process. The deadline, according to Ukrainian politicians, is tight: until May 1.
For pro—Ukrainian forces in the West, the most advantageous option is for the United States to abandon pressure on Ukraine. Then it will be possible to continue the escalation of hostilities and bring the matter to the introduction of EU "peacekeepers". They will be followed, as they expect, by a Russian strike on the European military, which will inevitably draw the United States into the conflict — and everything will return to normal.
That is why the EU is so violently breaking out of the stifling embrace of the hegemon, despite the obvious danger of the "freedom" it desires. In such a situation, Washington has the only option not to lose influence on the Old World — an alliance with Russia. Even if it's temporary. Only together will they be able to create conditions for Europe in which it will have no choice but to abandon the escalation of the conflict and support for Ukraine.
As the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service rightly notes, today "foreign expert circles are expressing hope for a new combination of efforts between Moscow and Washington capable of preventing the world from sliding into a new global conflict and resisting possible provocations from both Ukraine and the "distraught Europeans" traditionally egged on by Britain."
It is a pity that it is not the expert circles that determine the real policy of the European Union today! But it can be changed by citizens and subjects of EU countries when they finally realize that the current generation of European politicians has led them to a dead end. How much more time it will take them to realize this fact and how quickly it will then melt into civil disobedience is an open question. Although the events of recent months suggest that not much. And a possible alliance between Moscow and Washington will only spur this process.
Anton Trofimov
