Ukraine better off fighting than accepting unfavorable peace deal — analyst

He shared his opinions on Espreso TV.

"At present, there are essentially two possible scenarios: either Ukraine signs something utterly humiliating and unacceptable, effectively just a temporary truce, or the war continues. The second option looks better, as Ukraine is holding firm and with dignity, and Europe is showing determined support. After President Zelenskyy's humiliating reception at the White House on February 28, Europe, excluding Hungary, has rallied around Ukraine. The EU's defense industry, along with strong Ukrainian startups, is already preparing to ramp up weapons supply volumes and pace. This year, Ukraine is expected to receive around $100 billion in Western funding," Åslund explained.

The analyst is convinced that peace talks today will lead to nothing meaningful.

"So, the funding is already secured, but I see no real chance that anything substantial will come out of these talks. It's telling that during Witkoff’s visit to Moscow, he arrived without a single aide, while Putin received him in the presence of Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev. I know both, Dmitriev is quite a skilled and experienced player. Sergey Lavrov no longer performs the duties of a foreign minister, much like Marco Rubio here in Washington. Instead, Lavrov acts as a propaganda mouthpiece, no worse than Solovyov or Simonyan," he added.

Åslund believes that Putin's main goal is to influence Donald Trump by any means necessary to end the war on his own terms.

"The situation appears to be just that: Lavrov is not involved in any real negotiations, at least as far as I can tell. And overall, there’s no reason to believe that any genuine talks are actually taking place. On the contrary, Putin is simply trying to seduce Witkoff, and through him, influence Trump," Åslund emphasized.

• On April 23, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said the Trump administration may walk away from mediating negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
• On April 27, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that next week will be crucial in negotiations for achieving peace in Ukraine.
• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on April 29 that the United States would step away from its role as a mediator in resolving the war in Ukraine if there is no progress in negotiations.