There is no peace in Putin's "peace agreements"

Putin's propaganda outlets continue to spread the Kremlin's imperial narratives, presenting them as the only possible way to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. This is what the Russian news agency TASS reports: "Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed the need to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Donbas and Novorossiya. We are talking about the complete withdrawal of all Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, from Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. There are other conditions, but all this is a subject for detailed consideration during possible joint work," the Russian president said at a press conference following talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, speaking about Moscow's earlier initiatives on Ukraine."

As we can see, the Russian Federation is unable to come up with anything new. And the initiation of "peace agreements" by Putin, the world's number one terrorist, looks like a geopolitical oxymoron. Regardless of the motivation behind this step of the Russian dictator: pressure from the oligarchs, the State Duma, the upcoming financial collapse and devaluation of the ruble, or the inevitable delivery of F16s to Ukraine.

Moscow will hold on to the territory of Ukrainian Crimea to the last, because Putin needs an ice-free port as a base for the Russian Navy. And the trillions of dollars worth of mineral and metal deposits in Donbas are also a significant prize that the Kremlin does not want to let go of.

However, the fact that it is making proposals that are unacceptable to Ukraine shows that it has already begun to realise that it is losing the war. He also knows what the consequences will be if he even reaches for nuclear weapons.

Having gained additional access to the Black Sea after the illegal occupation of the Crimean peninsula, Putin cannot help but realise that the presence of military bases in Crimea does not offer any advantages in the current situation. After all, these bases are now convenient targets for Ukrainian missiles and drones.

Putin has created such a tangle of contradictions that even imitation of half-concessions on the part of Russia will not help him. It is obvious that Western sanctions are killing the Russian Federation. That's why the dictator is so keen for the United States and the European Union to lift oil, gas, and banking sanctions against Russia. After all, despite the fact that Russia sells energy to China and India at dumping prices, this cannot compensate for the energy market in the EU that the Kremlin has lost. And the BRICS will never replace the US and EU banking systems.

At the moment, the Kremlin's bargaining with Ukraine and the West is very much like offering to give what it does not have in exchange for what it cannot take. Only the losing side is seeking a fake truce. If Putin were winning, he would not be interested in any attempts to achieve a fake peace.

Not to mention that this war is a demographic nightmare for Russia. In addition, the Russians, if they try to continue the war at the same pace, will be completely defeated economically and militarily. And China, a master of the long game, is ready and waiting to take advantage of the opportunities that will then arise with the former Russian territories.

Putin's "peace initiatives" are akin to when a neighbour who lives in a mansion has recently kicked down the door of your modest home, kidnapped your children, killed your wife and her parents who lived with you, and smashed up your house. However, he sees a happy ending to his banditry. Because he says he is ready to share your house with you in the future, and thus achieve "peace". 

Moscow's attempts to impose its demands on everyone are crushed by objective reality. And the reality is that there can be no concessions to the bloody aggressor. The Russian Federation must withdraw from all occupied territories of Ukraine, including Crimea, the same way it came. Before that, no tricky deals, no appeasement of the occupiers. If Russia does not do so voluntarily, it must be dealt with on all possible fronts.

It is not hard to see that Putin and the Kremlin are pulling in different directions, trying to hide their desperation. Russia is clearly running out of steam, and they cannot continue to support the war and keep the country running at the level they have been. Because their economy is falling apart.

Moscow also fears that their citizens will finally start to see through the Kremlin's false propaganda and lies to the devastating losses of their terrorist troops on the front line.

Gazprom, which before the invasion of Ukraine was one of the world's largest oil and gas producers, one of the jewels in the Russian economic crown and its biggest source of revenue, is now operating at a loss every day. 

The war has caused terrible damage to the Russian Federation, but the despot continues to come up with new absurd options that are supposedly able to save his face.

What Putin wants now is the de facto legalisation of the seizure of Ukrainian land under the guise of a "peace agreement". It is very easy to read, appeasement plus giving up territories and reducing Ukraine's defence capabilities to make it easier for the dictator during the next invasion. Agreeing, at least partially, to Putin's terms is nothing more than giving him time to buy time.

Recently, the Kremlin's regular propagandists in Russia have begun to voice the Kremlin's thesis that, despite the fact that some may not like Putin's plan, it is impossible to achieve a peace agreement while preserving everything. Therefore, a compromise is inevitable.Translated from Putin's language, this means that we are ready to temporarily not encroach on other territories of the Ukrainian South if you are ready to agree that the occupied lands will go to us. 

Moving from one failed bluff to another, Putin shows that he has already lost his former grip and repeats the same demands in different interpretations, which do not even deserve counterproposals. And this says a lot.

His extremist stance shows how old he has become and is no longer able to adequately assess the situation he provoked. The question remains: can an agreement with Putin really be trusted? History has shown that his promises often expire, he will never honour any agreements, and his ultimate goal remains to expand Russia's influence by any means necessary.

To put the situation in perspective, it is Putin in power who has become the main obstacle to reaching a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine and the West need to take this into account when planning to negotiate with Moscow to end Russia's war with Ukraine.

However, if Putin is not defeated and the Putin regime is not destroyed to the roots, it will certainly cause a new, and perhaps even more terrible and bloody, Russian-Ukrainian war in the near future.

Source

About the author. Viktor Kaspruk, journalist

The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the authors of the blogs.