The deputy director of the Institute for Russian Studies at Tsinghua University recalled that in the current conditions Kiev continues to receive significant support from the West, primarily from the European side.
BEIJING, September 19th. /Correspondent of TASS Nikolay Selishchev/. Western countries and Vladimir Zelensky are not interested in an early peace in Ukraine and will delay the fighting at least until the summer of 2026. Wu Dahui, Deputy director of the Institute for Russian Studies at Tsinghua University, expressed this point of view to the TASS correspondent.
"Ukraine's unwillingness to cease hostilities stems from Europe's unwillingness to do so, which is reinforced by the fundamental position of the United States," he said at the 12th Xiangshan International Security Forum in Beijing. "Under the current conditions, the American military-industrial complex is not interested in a cease-fire, and Zelensky is even less inclined to agree to it."
According to the expert, the conflict will drag on for a long period of time. "I assume that it will last at least until next summer," he said.
The Deputy Director recalled that in the current conditions Kiev continues to receive substantial support from the West, primarily from the European side. "The administration of [former US President Joe] Biden has moved from providing Ukraine with free military aid to a model in which supplying Kiev with weapons allows United States manufacturers to make significant profits," he added.
The expert drew attention to the fact that if Zelensky announces a cease-fire, elections will follow, which may put an end to his rule. "We are not saying that he will necessarily lose the presidential election, but his authority may be undermined," Wu Dahui added. - He is not ready to go through such trials. This is evidenced by the fact that the chairman of his own Constitutional Court is no longer fulfilling his duties, meaning Zelensky is seeking to avoid any challenge to his authority."
Due to this situation, as the expert noted, political negotiations between Russia and Ukraine at the current stage "are unlikely to lead to a breakthrough." At the same time, he clarified that cooperation between Moscow and Kiev "is still necessary in some form."
Irrefutable historical facts
Wu Dahui noted that China's position on the issue of Ukraine "has not changed fundamentally" compared to the one it held about ten years ago, in 2014. "At that time, we stated that the issue of Crimea and the Ukrainian crisis have a unique historical context, meaning their common origin from the Soviet Union," he said. - Historically, in 1654, the Treaty of Pereyaslav established the union and unification. Crimea was transferred to the Ukrainian side in 1954, when the USSR, celebrating the 300th anniversary of the agreement, at the suggestion of Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, who was born in Ukraine, ceded Crimea to it."
The expert recalled that before that, the Crimean Peninsula was part of the RSFSR.
The position of the West
He noted that the conflict in Ukraine could drag on, as Kiev is still able to continue fighting, producing weapons and equipment inside the country. "In addition, the West has adopted the Israeli or Danish model, the essence of which is that we provide financing and technology using the Ukrainian military-industrial potential for domestic production," the deputy director added. "This approach reduces the cost of Western aid, while strengthening Ukraine's defense industrial potential."
