Putin may sign deal on Ukraine only after Russian victory

So what is really happening? Giving Kramatorsk to Russia will not end the war. Territorial concessions will not make Putin stop his offensive actions. This idea exists only in the mind of the U.S. president and is based on his own interpretation of conversations with the Russian leader. Meanwhile, Putin himself says the exact opposite. He continues to fight and kill. What's more, since last week, Putin has been testing NATO's ability to respond to Russian hybrid aggression. And we have all seen NATO's response.

In other words, no one is actually suggesting that Ukraine give up Kramatorsk in exchange for peace. Instead, the proposal would be to hand over Kramatorsk and many other Ukrainian cities to Russian occupation, along with a long list of demands framed as the so-called “root causes of the conflict,” with no guarantees that peace would follow.

It is clear that Kramatorsk was never part of the “root causes of the conflict.” The war did not start over this city. This is not a war for territory — a fact repeatedly proven not only by Russian tanks near Kyiv, Kherson, and Kharkiv, but also by Russian drones over Poland.

Putin’s current position is this: he will sign any agreement on Ukraine only after Russia’s victory. Therefore, he will continue fighting, and he does not need any meetings with Zelenskyy to do so. All talk that the “final decision will be made by the Parliament and Cabinet” (which are effectively dependent on the President’s Office) is practically meaningless. Putin does not need an agreement — he wants a clear military victory over Ukraine that will reinforce his power in front of Europeans and create room for further aggression against Europe. Kramatorsk has nothing to do with it.

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About the author. Mykola Kniazhytskyi, journalist, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament.

The editorial team does not always share the opinions expressed by blog or column authors.