“Ceasefire” is just Russia waging war by other means – Diplomat

He shared this on Espreso TV.

“In Russia’s military doctrine, war is waged not just with weapons and troops, but also through negotiations and pauses in the negotiation process. So these aren’t real ceasefire initiatives—they are simply tools of warfare. A true ceasefire is reached through negotiations and is formalized with signed documents that specify the time frame, start and end dates, and monitoring and verification mechanisms to build mutual trust. What Russia has done now, through Putin’s statements, is nothing more than continuing the war by other means. A ceasefire is never unilaterally declared or accepted—it’s always the result of negotiations,” the diplomat explained.

He added that, based on Russia’s tactical interests—such as ensuring Xi Jinping’s security on Red Square and other objectives—it’s clear Russia will carry out sabotage and tactical operations on the front line in the coming days. “They’re using these statements as cover, mainly to mislead people like Donald Trump,” he said.

“Over 11 years of war, Ukraine has experienced nearly 50 of these ceasefires. And we know very well how Russia honored—even the ones that were bilaterally agreed upon, signed, and monitored by joint groups, the OSCE, and independent experts. Russia consistently violated them, no matter the guarantees in place. Ukraine never broke these ceasefires—it was always the Russian Federation. So Putin’s latest initiatives should be seen, first, as a way to reject the idea of a 30-day unconditional ceasefire that Ukraine and the U.S. have been advocating. Second, they serve as cover for Kremlin-led military operations. Third, they are a tool to influence U.S.-Ukraine relations because soon we’ll hear Putin claim, ‘We reviewed the past three days and found that Ukrainians violated the ceasefire.’ What Washington doesn’t fully grasp is that Putin is playing games with Trump,” Bezsmertnyi concluded.

• President Zelenskyy responded to Russia’s overnight shelling, stating that Ukraine needs a real ceasefire and is ready for it.