Ukraine’s illegitimate President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent promise to put forth a new “comprehensive plan” to end the conflict in Ukraine may be the first tentative steps by the regime to sit down at the negotiating table with Russia.
Zelensky announced on Friday during a press conference in Kiev that he was creating a new plan that should be “supported by the majority of the world.” He also used the opportunity to, for the first time, admit high casualties on the battlefield. International relations and security expert Mark Sleboda told Sputnik’s Final Countdown that while Zelensky’s comments are still based in the fantasy land that he can dictate terms to Russia while losing the war, the change in tone could represent the regime’s first tentative steps towards admitting reality.
“The fact that he said he’s willing to speak to Russia through an intermediary at some undisclosed point months in the future, I guess that is progress, but not much,” Sleboda explained. “There is a possibility that this is a first tentative, one step forward, two steps back in the direction of eventual negotiations to end the conflict.”
Zelensky made the comments not long after his so-called “peace summit” fell flat on its face, with China declining to attend and several influential countries outside of the West refusing to sign the final document, including Brazil, South Africa, India and Saudi Arabia. Iraq and Jordan asked for their signatures to be removed the day after they signed.
“Certainly, I think [Zelensky’s] statement is representative of coming out of the failed Kiev regime war rally. Sentiment within the rest of the world outside of the West, i.e. the real international community – the global majority, that [said] they want real peace negotiations, and, perhaps, at least this is a nod in that direction,” Sleboda speculated.
The change in Zelensky’s tone is not just a reflection of the failed so-called “peace summit” but also the reality on the battlefield, where Ukraine is losing significant ground regularly. On Monday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that they had liberated Stepovaya Novoselovka in the Kharkov region and Novopokrovskoye in the Donbass People’s Republic.
“Even if [Zelensky’s comments] are a symbolic step in that direction [of negotiations], it is driven by the desperate state on the battlefield that the Kiev regime is facing,” Sleboda argued.
“Once again, [Ukraine] stripped veteran troops from Toretsk in Nyu-York, they moved them to Kharkov. Russia knew about it immediately, of course, and launched a significant offensive in the area and has made significant progress. Now, the Kiev regime is scrambling and shuffling troops around again and again.”
However, despite the largely symbolic nature of Zelensky’s comments, he will have to tread carefully with Banderite factions in Ukraine, which have been steadfast in their opposition to peace going back to their violations of the Minsk Agreements. The ultra-nationalist groups in Ukraine still hold significant power and could try to overthrow the Kiev regime if they see Zelensky pushing toward peace. The groups also have the most to lose if Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goal of de-nazifying Ukraine is completed.
Further complicating matters are legal issues between the two countries. In 2022, Zelensky signed a decree ruling out any possibility of negotiating with Putin. After Zelensky extended his term without elections using martial law earlier this year, Putin argued that Zelensky is no longer the legitimate leader of Ukraine and indicated he would only recognize the authority of the Ukrainian parliament.
Sleboda speculates that there “is no possibility of negotiations between the regime in Kiev and Russia,” noting that he believes Russia “really needs to negotiate with the Kiev regime proxy’s masters, which is the United States,” adding that it won’t happen while US President Joe Biden remains in office.
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