'To keep Russia under pressure, strikes must be regular': expert on possible steps to de-escalate war

He said this on the Espreso TV channel.

“The statements of the Americans about their plan to end the war, their plan for a truce are not a plan, they are general phrases, nothing concrete. No one has yet proposed a phased ceasefire plan. In fact, only in Zelenskyy's response, in the so-called Zelenskyy's letter to Trump, do we see one paragraph that resembles a more or less rethought plan. Some say it's Zelenskyy's plan, others say it's Macron's plan, but these points were probably agreed upon with our European partners at a meeting in London,” Lakiichuk said.

The head of security programs at the Center for Global Studies Strategy XXI explained what is meant by the war de-escalation plan. The first is the exchange of prisoners of war for all. The second is to end the war at sea. The third is to stop Deepstrike on both sides and end the war in the sky. This sequence opens the door to de-escalation.

“And when the Americans say that there should be concessions on both sides, we are now offering concessions on both sides.

The exchange of prisoners is the first step in de-escalation. If it takes place, it will be an indication of the parties' readiness for further negotiations. Even if this does not happen, what further steps can we talk about?

Ending the war at sea. At the moment, we feel secure in our sea corridor, the main transportation route that connects Ukraine with the world. But, on the other hand, the Russians will return their fleet from Novorossiysk to Sevastopol and again threaten to blockade the entire northwestern part of the Black Sea if hostilities resume.

Deepstrike, on the one hand, will finally ease the situation for Ukrainians: the threat of constant bombardment of our cities, villages, settlements, infrastructure, etc. will disappear. On the other hand, look at the successful strikes on the Russian military's bloody oil exports. Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries are very effective, but as soon as they stop, the Russians restore their facilities. Therefore, the logical conclusion is that in order to keep the enemy by the throat, we need to strike regularly and constantly,” emphasized Lakiichuk.

• Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had apologized to US President Donald Trump for the dispute at the White House.
• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that his country would not provide military assistance to Russia. However, according to him, the two countries - Ukraine and Russia - will need to make concessions.