“Russia has no chance to achieve its declared goals for full control over all four zones. There is a difference between pushing the Ukrainians back five to ten kilometers at the cost of heavy casualties and having an armored fist that can lead to an advance,” argued Dara Massicot, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment.
Russia has bombarded Ukrainian cities to death and killed civilians for days, and there is no indication that Vladimir Putin and his regime will be held accountable for the recent crimes, let alone for the previous ones. It is true that the President of the USA, Donald Trump, has criticized both the Russian president and the Ukrainian one, Vladimir Putin, but also Volodymyr Zelensky, apparently for the sake of balance. Trump said he always had a “very good relationship” with Putin, but that “something happened to him.”
TRUMP’S “ANGER”
“He is completely crazy! He is killing many people unnecessarily, and I am not just talking about soldiers. Rockets and drones are being launched at Ukrainian cities without any obvious reason,” the American president wrote on the social network Truth Social. Trump believes that if Putin wants to take control of all Ukraine, this will lead to the “collapse of Russia.” In the same post, the American president said he was dissatisfied with Zelensky’s statements, who “is not doing anything good for his country.”
“Everything he says is problematic, I don’t like it and better he stops,” added Trump, without specifying which statements he was referring to. “The indiscriminate killing of women and children at night, while they are in their homes, is a clear violation of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols, which were drafted to protect civilians. These attacks are shameful. Stop the killings. Ceasefire now,” said Kellogg.
KREMLIN’S REACTION
Such statements, apparently, amuse Putin’s circle, who is increasingly trying to hide this. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that they are not worried about Trump’s criticisms of the Russian president. “The start of the negotiation process, in which the American side has invested much effort, is a very important achievement and we are sincerely grateful to the Americans, and especially to President Trump, for their help in organizing and starting this process. At the same time, this is a very sensitive moment linked to the emotional overload of all involved parties and emotional reactions,” reported the Russian daily Kommersant. How “afraid” they were in the Kremlin was clear from the fact that from Sunday until yesterday, Russian forces carried out a new massive air assault in Ukraine.
TRUMP’S PRESSURE
Calls directed at Trump to change his policy and to exert strong pressure on Russia and to continue military aid to Ukraine continue in Western media. The Washington Post, citing the opinion of “a dozen senior American officials and military experts,” writes that the current moment may be “the most favorable to exert pressure on Moscow throughout the war.” According to these experts, the Russian army is losing strength and will soon begin to experience a severe shortage of personnel and equipment.
“Russia has no chance to achieve its declared goals for full control over all four zones. There is a difference between pushing the Ukrainians back five to ten kilometers at the cost of heavy casualties and having an armored fist that can lead to an advance,” argued Dara Massicot, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment.
Her conclusion is confirmed by the situation on the battlefield, where there are no significant developments. At the same time, Forbes magazine writes that Trump’s withdrawal from the peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv could lead to Ukraine’s surrender, which would make Russian President Vladimir Putin the “political master” of Europe. The publication calls for continuing to supply Ukraine with the “necessary weapons.”
