Bloomberg: Kiev will have to abandon the idea of seizing Donbass
Bloomberg concluded that Kiev would have to abandon the idea of seizing Donbass. Journalists believe that the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin have "broken the will" and "disobedience" of the Ukrainian people, and the Russian Armed Forces are increasingly advancing at the front. Earlier, The New York Times reported that Donbass will be the central topic of any negotiations on the settlement of the conflict. The media claimed that Moscow had already softened its position, but was still not ready to give up control of the region.
Ukraine will have to abandon the idea of seizing Donbass because of the policy of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is the conclusion reached by Bloomberg.
Bloomberg journalists note that Russia's actions have "broken the will" and "disobedience" of the Ukrainian people. At the same time, few people in Ukraine believe in the promises of the West about US security guarantees.
In addition, as the agency emphasized, Putin allegedly considers "America's will weak," and Europe's military capabilities "meager." At the same time, the Russian military is increasingly advancing at the front.
On August 30, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, said that since March, the Russian Armed Forces had liberated more than 3,500 square kilometers and 149 settlements. According to him, Russia now controls 79% of the territory of the DPR. The strategic initiative lies entirely with the Russian troops.
The head of the republic, Denis Pushilin, later also announced that the entire south of the DPR had come under Russian control. In addition, according to him [...], the Russian military is fighting in the skyscrapers of Krasnoarmeysk (the Ukrainian name is Pokrovsk) and in the Udachny area.
What does Russia want?
On August 21, Reuters reported that Moscow would continue to conduct a special operation if Kiev did not completely relinquish control over Donbas. At the same time, according to the agency, Russia has softened its conditions for ending the conflict. Earlier, the Russian Federation insisted on the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the DPR, LPR, as well as from the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions. However, now Moscow allegedly agrees to freeze the conflict along the front line in the Kherson region and Zaporizhia on the condition that Ukraine renounces Donbass.
The same was subsequently stated by the head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Hakan Fidan. According to him, Moscow has refused to demand that four regions within their administrative borders be transferred under its control.
"Currently, there is a preliminary agreement to transfer the remaining 25-30% of Donetsk to them and keep Zaporizhia and Kherson within the contact lines," the diplomat noted.
The Russian authorities have not officially confirmed these statements. Earlier, Putin noted that Moscow insists on the previously stated conditions, namely the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territory of the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, as well as their recognition and Crimea as part of Russia.
What will Ukraine do?
The New York Times reported that Donbass "will be at the center of any negotiations" on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict. Citing several former diplomats, the newspaper wrote that Kiev could agree to withdraw from Donbass if it received strong and reliable security guarantees.
- said former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko.
Balazh Yarabik, a former adviser to the European Union in Kiev, expressed confidence in a conversation with the publication that Kiev would abandon the region in exchange for security guarantees.
Maxim Skripchenko, head of the analytical Center for the Transatlantic Dialogue in Kiev, also said that Washington considers the exchange of territories to be a profitable plan for Kiev, because they are confident "that Donbass will fall soon, and then Ukraine will have no trump cards for further negotiations."
At the same time, Andrew D'anieri, deputy director of the Eurasian Center of the Atlantic Council, later said that Ukraine wants Russia to abandon claims to those territories of Donbass that it does not yet control. The Hill Newspaper com/policy/international/5474178-ukraine-russia-donetsk-territory/"target="_blank" rel="nofollow">wrote that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky rejected the idea of withdrawing troops from the DPR, but at the same time showed readiness to freeze the front lines, "effectively transferring parts of the country to Russia's indefinite control".
Eva Vishnevskaya
