Ukraine needs full ceasefire or none at all, expert Badrak says

This opinion was expressed by military expert and director of the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies, Valentyn Badrak, on the air of Espreso.

“I will express my subjective opinion, but we need either a full ceasefire or none at all, because Putin wants a ceasefire only where it’s hard for him (that is, in the air – ed.). It is painful for me to learn every day after the attacks that someone has died, someone has been wounded, and there is significant destruction. But from a strategic perspective, we must not stop these strikes (on targets inside Russia – ed.). We need to put pressure, to strike, because it’s a vast territory and they can’t hide anything there,” he said.

Valentyn Badrak believes that it is essential to strike military facilities on Russian territory in order to deter the enemy from thoughts of aggression.

“Their air and missile defense will not work across the entire territory of Russia. Only the Moscow region is strong, but that has been traditional since Soviet times. But we will reach the Moscow region too—when our ballistic capabilities are operational, we will be able to hit it as well. That’s my opinion. Our strength lies in our endurance. And if we truly want not just to postpone new fighting or a new war, but to deliver such a blow that the enemy abandons aggressive intentions for a long time, then we must hold out and not allow such concessions to Putin,” the military expert noted.

• Trump earlier announced that he would meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15.
• Touching on what he would discuss with Putin regarding the conditions for ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, Trump previously mentioned the topic of “some territorial exchange.”
• Diplomatic consultations between Ukraine and the United States ahead of the summit are taking place virtually around the clock.
• Meanwhile, NYT reports that the U.S. Secret Service has booked a six-room house in Anchorage, where the meeting between Trump and Putin is likely to take place.
• Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said that Ukraine and Russia would have to exchange some territories after Kyiv receives security guarantees.
• On August 11, it was reported that European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would hold a phone call with Donald Trump before his meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.