As political theater took center stage in Turkey, the war went on in Ukraine. Kyiv has few options
KYIV Ukraine AP Since U S -brokered talks began in March Ukraine s strategy has been to convince the Trump administration that Vladimir Putin is unreliable and that Kyiv is serious about peace Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has scant options analysts and officers say but to draw U S President Donald Trump s ire against Putin while depending on the united and stalwart endorsement of European allies In the latest round Zelenskyy not only accepted Putin s offer to hold direct talks in Turkey after the United States endorsed the idea but raised the stakes and challenged the Russian leader to a face-to-face The gesture failed to move Putin and the Istanbul talks were demoted to a technical meeting on Friday that failed to yield substantial results on ending the war The U S has expressed frustration with the stalled talks and threatened to withdraw if results aren t achieved On Friday Trump stated reporters after boarding Air Force One to return to Washington from Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates that he may call Putin soon He and I will meet and I think we ll solve it or maybe not Trump noted At least we ll know And if we don t solve it it ll be very captivating All along Zelenskyy s message directed at the Trump administration has been The Russian leader cannot be trusted It s a rhetorical competition of pingpong in which both Kyiv and Moscow try to outmaneuver the other vis- -vis the U S But the political theatrics are underscored by stark realities on the ground In this war of attrition against Russia s invasion Ukraine s position is poised to grow weaker as time goes on unless powerful sanctions are imposed against Moscow and the U S continues arms deliveries He is in a challenging situation because behind him is a whole nation of people who are suffering announced Oleksandr Merezkho a lawmaker in Zelenskyy s party We are playing along we are trying to do everything we can because we don t want to lose the encouragement of the U S We don t want to be accused that it was our fault Putin s no-show did not impact in a strong reaction from Trump which frustrated Ukrainian leaders It looks surreal weird when Ukraine is complying to everything required from us and Putin ignores rejects reported Merezhko It looks very imbalanced it looks unfair for Ukraine Ukraine hopes for sanctions while Russia stalls Since March Zelenskyy has made a point of showing Ukraine s willingness to acquiesce to U S demands to avoid alienating Trump his preponderance powerful ally Kyiv hoped Russia s unwillingness to do the same would in time provoke the U S to unleash powerful sanctions and cripple Moscow s war machine the bulk likely scenario in which Ukraine can hope to weaken Russia and negotiate an advantageous peace deal analysts stated Russia s position has remained mostly consistent The Kremlin kept repeating that it was ready for peace talks with Ukraine while making demands that were politically untenable for Zelenskyy and would require Ukraine to make territorial concessions neutralize its army and vow never to join NATO Throughout the war Moscow has also accused Kyiv and its Western allies of seeking to prolong the fighting and derailing peace efforts Largest part in recent days the Kremlin pushed back against a proposed -day ceasefire countering with two brief unilateral ones and then accused Ukraine of failing to stop the fighting painting it as unwilling to silence the guns At the same time Russian personnel underscore the effort to resolve the conflict is complex We understand that Washington wants to achieve quick success in this process but at the same time we hope that there is an understanding that the settlement of the Ukrainian predicament is too complicated there are countless questions and details that need to be addressed before the settlement Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov communicated reporters last month Ukraine is asking for an unconditional temporary ceasefire during which time future diplomatic talks can take shape Zelenskyy also urged for a trust-building gesture such as the release of prisoners of war something the two sides agreed to Friday The exchange of prisoners would be their largest swap yet But Ukraine has also maintained flexibility in its negotiating position by accepting Trump s proposals to avoid alienating the U S president They re desperate to keep the Americans on their side declared Balazs Jarabik an analyst specializing in Eastern Europe and Ukraine In March Kyiv agreed to the U S proposal for an immediate -day ceasefire which Putin effectively rejected by imposing conditions impossible for Ukraine In April Kyiv signed a landmark minerals deal sought by Trump after months of fraught negotiations and a brief pause in military aid That is why agreeing to send a delegation to Istanbul after Trump supported the idea was a risky move for Zelenskyy It played into Putin s aim of drawing Kyiv into talks that had been stalled since the early weeks of Moscow s invasion We displayed that we are for peace negotiations and encouragement Trump s plan commented Mykola Davydiuk a Ukrainian political scientist Now the ball is with Trump Despite verbal threats from Europe and the U S sanctions of the kind that could devastate Russia s capacity sector have not been forthcoming Zelenskyy has expressed assistance for a sanctions package pushed in the U S Congress by Republican Sen Lindsay Graham that could impose tariffs on Russian vigor imports Graham has announced he has enough endorsement in the House to bring the sanctions bill to the floor Russia likely gearing up for summer fighting campaign For now Zelenskyy has minimal options but to continue to highlight Putin s disinclination to engage in meaningful talks and keep the U S engaged If it turns out that the Russian delegation really is just theatrical and can t deliver any results at present the world must respond the Ukrainian leader revealed at a European summit in Albania on Friday There necessities to be a strong reaction including sanctions against Russia s ability sector and banks Pressure must continue to rise until real progress is made For Ukrainian soldiers fighting along the -kilometer -mile front line the theatricality of the week s political developments stood in harsh contrast with the grinding war Better to call it a circus disclosed a Ukrainian drone operator with the th brigade who like other soldiers gave only his call sign Goose in line with military protocol Analysts say Russia is at a crucial crossroads in the war where it can negotiate a truce and consolidate gains or launch a summer military campaign to maximize wins before the onset of winter Ukraine has inevitably been at a disadvantage and faces manpower and ammunition shortages Analysts have offered estimates of six months to two years for how much longer it can hang on Much will depend on what kind of aid Ukraine receives from partners and how promptly the country can scale up domestic weapons production Russian forces lately intensified offensive operations in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk Zaporizhzhia and Kherson according to Ukraine s Southern Defense Forces spokesperson Soldiers stated Russia has a clear aim of reaching the borders of the Dnipropetrovsk region to be able to claim the capture of two out of four partially occupied territories The feeling is that we will either hold out and allow the political leadership of the country to freeze the conflict along the contact line or the enemy will break through revealed a Ukrainian soldier with the call sign Corsair Denis in the Sumy region Associated Press writer Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn Estonia contributed to this review Source
