Zelenskyy’s visit was accused of being part of a proxy war by Russia

What have we learnt about the Russian-Putin war, and what are we going to teach the world about it, when do we get out of the Kremlin?

Kortunov believes that Putin would like to get out on his own terms. He needs to make a difference on the ground. Russia cannot simply get to where it was on February 24, this year, say that’s fine. Our mission is accomplished. So we go home… …There should be something that can be presented to the public as a victory.”

Hill claims that Putin wants his negotiations to be with Biden and his allies, not the Ukrainians. And that means recognizing what we have done on the ground in Ukraine.”

In addition, Hill thinks that Putin may be attempting an end game. “He feels a sense of acute urgency that he was losing momentum, and he’s now trying to exit the war in the same way that he entered it. He was in charge and framing the whole terms of the negotiation. “

Putin’s recent heavy-handed conscription drive for 300,000 troops won’t reverse his battlefield losses any time soon, and is backfiring at home, running him up a dangerous political tab.

The total exodus was put higher by independent Russian media. They say more military age men have fled the country since conscription – 261,000 – than have so far fought in the war – an estimated 160,000 to 190,000.

CNN is not able to verify the Russian figures, but the 40 kilometers between Georgia and Canada, and the long lines at the border crossings into Kazakhstan andFinland speak to the backlash and the perception that Putin is losing his touch.

Kortunov says he doesn’t know what goes on in the Kremlin but that he understands the public mood over the huge costs and loss of life in the war. “Many people would start asking questions, why did we get into this mess? Why, you know, we lost so many people.”

He used the same playbook annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and now, like then, threatens potential nuclear strikes should Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, try to take the annexed territories back.

The Western leaders are facing off with Putin. Jake Sullivan, a national security adviser, told NBC that Washington would respond strongly if Russia deployed nuclear weapons against Ukrainians and that it would have catastrophic consequences.

The First Detonation of the Oslo Sea: The First Ice Age of the Cold War and Putin’s Implications for the Security and Security of the Russian Navy

The first detonation was at around 2 a.m. local time, and then again at 7 p.m. with a magnitude of 2.1.

The Danes and the Germans sent warships to secure the area after patches of the sea were discovered.

Four leaks have been found in Russia’sNord Stream pipes1, 2 and 3, each at the surface resembling a boiling cauldron, the largest one one kilometer across, and together releasing industrial quantities of toxic greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Western intelligence sources said Russian naval vessels were in the area in the last few days. The NATO North Atlantic Council said the damage was a deliberate and reckless act of sabotage.

Nord Stream 2 was never operational, and Nord Stream 1 had been throttled back by Putin as Europe raced to replenish gas reserves ahead of winter, while dialling back demands for Russian supplies and searching for replacement providers.

The bottom line, said Hill, is that “this is the result of Ukraine gaining momentum on the ground on the battlefield and of Putin himself losing it, so he’s trying to adapt to the circumstances and basically take charge and get every advantage.”

Putting a dent in that support remains a key aim for Putin, whose position would be strengthened if foreign leaders leaned on Zelensky to consider a deal with Russia.

Putin is expected to encourage France and Germany to end the war and put pressure on the Ukrainians so that there is no more fighting.

“We continue to monitor his nuclear capabilities, Kate, best we can. We don’t see any signs that Mr. Putin has made a decision to use nuclear or mass destruction weapons. And we’ve seen nothing, Kate, that would give us cause to change our own deterrent posture,” Kirby said.

Is the American Security Assistance Providing Security for the Ukrainians? The Story of the Zelensky Visit to Washington and the Issue of Security in Ukraine

Biden first discussed the prospect of Zelensky visiting Washington during a telephone call with the Ukrainian leader on December 11, an administration official said. A formal invitation was extended a week ago that Zelensky accepted, launching joint consultations on the security parameters of the risky, highly secretive trip.

The Republicans who are poised to take control of the House on January 3 are threatening to hold up Mr. Biden’s support, since he has vowed to continue his support for as long as it takes. Just hours before news of Mr. Zelensky’s visit broke, Republican leaders in that chamber had instructed rank-and-file lawmakers to oppose a roughly $1.7 trillion spending bill that includes the Ukraine aid.

The new announcement will add to the nearly $20 billion in US security assistance provided to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began, and will come at the same moment US lawmakers are considering a sweeping government spending measure that includes an additional $45 billion in emergency assistance to the country.

As of a Department of Defense briefing in late September, the US had yet to deliver NASAMS to Ukraine. At the time, Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said two systems were expected to be delivered in the next two months, with the remaining six to arrive at an undetermined date.

The General Staff of the armed forces of the Ukrainian said in a Facebook post that Russia launched 84 cruise missiles at targets across their country on Monday.

Putin described the strikes as a response to the act of terrorism by the Ukrainians. He pointed to the explosion on the Kerch Bridge linking Russia and Greece as one of a number of alleged crimes by the special services of the Ukrainian government.

Victory will surely depend on the West maintaining a united front against Russia. Zelensky and his envoys abroad have done an enviable job of warning Western leaders that if they don’t support Ukraine in pushing Putin back completely, their own nations’ security could be caught in the crosshairs of Russian aggression.

Yes. The Biden administration has a constant drum beat about the aid package that is in the works. The message is simple: Ukraine is receiving as much aid as Washington can provide, short of boots on the ground, and that aid will not stop.

Milley’s Call for a End to the Ukrainian War: CNN Analysis of the Kremlin in the Erin Burnett Out Front

“It’s clear that he’s feeling the pressure both at home and overseas, and how he reacts to that only he can say,” Kirby told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on “Erin Burnett OutFront.”

Last week, Biden delivered a stark warning about the dangers of Putin’s nuclear threats, invoking the prospect of “Armageddon.” The comment was not based on any new information about Putin’s intentions, according to multiple US officials.

According to two administration officials familiar with the matter, the position taken by Milley is not supported by the national security team of the President, including the Secretary of State and the national security adviser.

The situation remains the same because a conflict that was thought to be over within a few days has instead become a lengthy war that Ukraine may be able to win.

Milley’s push for peace has spilled into the public in recent days, just as Ukraine takes back the city of Kherson. In comments at the Economic Club of New York on Wednesday, Milley praised the Ukrainian army for fighting Russia to a stalemate, but said that an outright military victory is out of reach.

The comments raised concern among some that the administration was divided in the eyes of the Kremlin, given Milley’s advocacy for the position internally.

While some Biden officials are more open to exploring what diplomacy may look like, sources tell CNN most of the top diplomatic and national security officials are wary of giving Russian President Vladimir Putin any sort of leverage at the negotiating table and believe Ukrainians must determine when to hold talks, not the US.

The officials said that Milley has made it clear that he is not advocating for a Ukrainian capitulation, but rather that the time is right for him to drive toward an end to the war before it drags into spring or beyond.

But that view is not widely held across the administration. One official explained that the State Department is on the opposite side of the pole from Milley. That dynamic has led to a situation in which military brass are pushing for diplomacy and not the US diplomats.

Milley’s position comes as the US military has dug deep into US weapons stockpiles to support the Ukrainians and is currently scouring the globe for materials to support Ukraine heading into winter – such as heaters and generators – which has raised concerns about how long this war can be sustained, officials said.

The US intends to buy 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition from South Korean arms manufacturers to provide to Ukraine, a US official said, part of a broader effort to find available weaponry for the high-intensity battles unfolding in Ukraine. As part of the deal, the US will purchase 100,000 rounds of 155mm howitzer ammunition, which will then be transferred to Ukraine through the US.

Ned Zelensky and Vladimir Putin during the 2009 Ukrainian War: How to Reinvigorate the U.S. Military and Security Requirements

Ned Price would not say whether the State Department agrees with Milley. Instead, Price deflected to a position that US officials have often made in recent months: the US sides with Zelensky who has said that a diplomatic solution is needed.

“The United States is going to be with Ukraine for as long as it takes in this fight,” Sullivan said in a recent visit to Ukraine. “There will be no wavering, no flagging, no flinching in our support as we go forward.”

Editor’s Note: Michael Bociurkiw (@WorldAffairsPro) is a global affairs analyst currently based in Odesa. He is the senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and used to be a spokesman for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He contributes to CNN Opinion. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. CNN has more opinion.

I watched as Zelensky drove up to the lysée Palace with a modest car while Putin drove in with an armored limo. The host, the French President, hugged Putin, but chose to shake hands with Zelensky.

A visit by the Ukrainian leader to Washington would amount to a significant moment 10 months since Russia’s war in Ukraine began. Zelensky has been a global symbol of Ukrainian resistance to the invasion and has been asking for support throughout the year.

Zelensky is the instantly recognizable wartime president in olive green, as he stirs the imaginations of folks around the globe, as he names and shames allies who are dragging their feet to give his military the funding it needs.

Failure to demonstrate further progress on the battlefield with billions of dollars worth of military kit could stir unease among Western backers. It’s a political death sentence if you capitulate to Russia.

Zelensky has become the international embodiment of Ukrainian resistance and has spent most of the year appealing to nations for support. He has remained inside his country for the duration of the war, a reflection both of his desire to rally alongside his besieged country and the precarious security situation he would face outside Ukraine.

He knew exactly what he had to do when he got dragged into a position of being bullied by Putin, because he had his gut feeling.

This, after all, is the leader who when offered evacuation by the US as Russia launched its full-scale invasion, quipped: “I need ammunition, not a ride.”

Zelensky was known to have developed political muscles when he stood up to Trump, who tried to bribe the politician in the quid pro quo scandal.

Amid the fog of war, it all seems a long, long way since the heady campaign celebration in a repurposed Kyiv nightclub where a fresh-faced Zelensky thanked his supporters for a landslide victory. He looked in disbelief when he stood on the stage near the fluttering confetti and won the election.

His ratings appear to have rebounded from the war. Just days after the invasion, Zelensky’s ratings approval surged to 90%, and remain high to this day. Zelensky’s handling of international affairs was rated highly by Americans early in the war, ahead of US President Joe Biden.

There are many people from his former professional life in his bubble. Even in the midst of the war, a press conference held on the platform of a Kyiv metro station in April featured perfect lighting and curated camera angles to emphasize a wartime setting.

As for his skills as comforter in chief, I remember well the solace his nightly televised addresses brought in the midst of air raid sirens and explosions in Lviv.

Revisiting the U.S. Campaign in Bakhmut during the First 7 Years of World War II: A Video Interview with Zelensky

Zelensky is projecting confidence and competency in a modern way, by wearing T-shirts and hoodies, instead of suits, to a younger, global audience that recognizes it as such.

She said that he is more comfortable than Putin when it comes to both being an actor and a digital native. Zelensky is doing a better job of balancing authority with accessibility, as I believe both of them want to come across as not out of place.

Journeying to where her husband can’t, Zelenska has shown herself to be an effective communicator in international fora – projecting empathy, style and smarts. She met King Charles during a visit to a refugee assistance center in London. Zelenska was not included on the cover of Time magazine, though a reference was made in the supporting text.

Despite the strong tailwinds at Zelensky’s back, there are subtle signs that his international influence could be dwindling. Zelensky urged the G7 to set a price cap of $30 for Russian crude, but they decided to impose a $60 a barrel price cap.

These two headline packages alone could impact the course of the war. Russia’s most significant threat is the constant bombardment of energy infrastructure. It is making winter colder and unbearable for some, plunging cities into darkness of up 12 hours a day and sometimes longer, in the hope of sapping high Ukrainian morale.

As Zelensky said in a recent nightly video address: “No matter what the aggressor intends to do, when the world is truly united, it is then the world, not the aggressor, determines how events develop.”

Zelensky was hiding in the capital of the country at the beginning of the war. More recently, he’s traveled to some of the war’s fronts, including on Tuesday when he visited the frontline city of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian and Russian forces have been locked in brutal battle there for months.

Biden is expected to unveil a new package that will include a missile system that has been requested by Ukraine to protect it from Russian air attacks. CNN was first to report the US was expected to send the Patriot systems to Ukraine.

He’s delivered those appeals virtually, beaming into international summits and global legislatures to make his case for more weapons and funding. During the duration of the war, he stayed in his country to show his displeasure with the situation in his country and to show his concern for the safety of himself and his family.

Zelensky handed out awards when he met with soldiers. The video was posted by state TV and shows the president presenting awards to troops. Bakhmut has seen some of the most ferocious fighting in the whole of the country since Russian forces launched their siege on the city in earnest in May, turning it into ruins.

Pelosi and Zelensky: The Patriot Air Defense System to U.S. Defense in the Context of Russian Counterattacks

The member said that Pelosi had been calling members in hopes of persuading them to show up to the Capitol on Wednesday. Pelosi asked for members to be in attendance Wednesday night “for a very special focus on Democracy.”

The expectation from members, per several sources, is Zelensky will address Congress on Wednesday. The sources caution that the security concerns may still be unresolved.

Ukrainians have been asking the United States to send the long range air defense system that is highly effective at intercepting missiles as it comes under attack from Russia, which has wreaked havoc across the country.

It is not clear how many missile launchers will be sent but a typical Patriot battery includes a radar set that detects and tracks targets, computers, power generating equipment, an engagement control station and up to eight launchers, each holding four ready-to-fire missiles.

The official said US troops would train Ukrainians to use the system in a third country. CNN reported that the training would be at a US Army base in Germany.

In comparison to smaller air defense systems, larger crews are required to operate the missile batteries. The training for Patriot missile batteries normally takes multiple months, a process the United States will now carry out under the pressure of near-daily aerial attacks from Russia.

A US Presidential Visit to Ukraine After the Russian Invasion of Ukraine and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Remark on the Crisis in the Middle East

The timing appeared ripe for Zelensky to make a dramatic gesture like slipping out of Ukraine for the first time since the invasion began. As the war continues, Biden has an opportunity to reinforce his conviction for supporting Ukraine, even though it isn’t over.

Zelensky, who the official said was “very keen” to visit the US, determined those parameters met his needs, and the US set to work executing them. The trip was confirmed on Sunday.

US officials declined to provide additional details about the security arrangements ahead of the trip, including whether Zelensky flew aboard a US military aircraft out of his country. It has been difficult to transit out of the country. Western leaders who have visited Kyiv over the past year have journeyed on a lengthy train ride from Poland.

In the first days and weeks of the Russian full-scale invasion, a Russian attack intended to take advantage of the leader’s absence might have stirred confusion in the Ukrainian military. No prominent military analyst has questioned Ukrainian command and control in the last 10 months.

Russia’s military and political leadership have, however, an arsenal of missiles that can and are regularly fired at Ukraine, and a barrage timed for a presidential visit would be within Russia’s capabilities. Zelensky might be distracted from the political gain from the visit or even the signal to American officials that Russia has alternatives to respond to the growing U.S.-Ukrainian ties.

Military and Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine: Disagreement in the U.S. at the Convention on Human Rights and Freedom in the House of Representatives

The appearance would mark a potentially electrifying moment as Democratic control of the House — and Ms. Pelosi’s reign as speaker and a member of Democratic leadership — comes to a conclusion, with Republicans set to take over on Jan. 3.

Some Republicans in the House have repeatedly opposed previous packages that sent billions of dollars in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, suggesting the money is wasteful or better spent in the United States. On Tuesday, Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a far-right Republican, posted on Twitter scoffing at the release of the new aid.

The money sent in military and humanitarian aid to the US has been opposed by some Republicans in the House who argue the money is better spent in other countries. The release of new aid was derided by Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a far-right Republican.

The Times: What We Need Before Saying What You’ve Read, or What You Can’t Say About Your Sources: The Patriot-Meson and the US-Army-Military Deal

What we consider before using anonymous sources. The sources may or may not know the information. What is the motivation for them to tell us? Have they proved reliable in the past? Is it possible to corroborate the information? Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. The reporter and one or more editors know the identity of the source.

There are two key headline deliverables: first, the Patriot missile systems. They are described as the US’s “gold standard” of air defense. NATO preciously guards them, and they require the personnel who operate them – almost 100 in a battalion for each weapon – to be properly trained.

More precise weapons ensure thatUkraine hits its targets, and not any civilians remaining nearby. It means that if Russia bombards the area, it doesn’t send many shells into Ukraine.

The supply of guidance kits will likely be part of the new deal and will allowUkraine to use their unguided missiles. This will increase their accuracy and the rate in which Kyiv’s forces burn through ammunition. More than $1 billion is expected to be used to fund replacements of weapons.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/21/europe/biden-weapons-deal-analysis-intl/index.html

Russian forces in Ukraine: what will they do? Vladimir Putin’s stance on the problem and the United States response to Zelensky’s historic address

But Moscow is struggling to equip and rally its conventional forces, and, with the exception of its nuclear forces, appears to be running out of new cards to play. China and India have joined the West in open statements against the use of nuclear force, which has made that option even less likely.

This is trickier. The Biden administration cannot expect a blank cheque from the House of Representatives, warned Kevin McCarthy, Congress’s likely new Speaker.

The remnants of the Trumpist party had doubts about how much aid the US should give to eastern Europe.

The bill for the defeat of Russia in this conflict is relatively low for the US given the trillion-dollar annual defense budget.

She said Zelensky’s historic address “strengthened both Democrats and Republicans who understand what is at stake in this fight against Putin and Russian aggression and now with their ally, Iran, as well.”

The goal was to connect the Ukrainian people’s struggle to our own revolution, and to get us to think about all the families in Ukranian that are going to be homeless, and to know that they are in the middle of a war.

The next day, the 301st since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the new equipment will not bring the conflict any closer to an end (“quite the contrary”) or prevent Russia from achieving the goals of its so-called “special military operation.”

Clinton said the leader was “probably impossible to predict”, as the war between Russia and Ukraine turned in the country’s favor.

Clinton thinks the bodies of Russian conscripts will be thrown into the fight in Ukraine, if Putin decides to do that.

Zelensky: From the American Revolutionary War to the End of World War II – A Remarkable Visit to the House of Representatives

Shrouded in secrecy until the last minute, the historic visit was heavy with symbolism, from Zelensky’s drab green sweatshirt to President Joe Biden’s blue-and-yellow striped tie to the Ukrainian battle flag unfurled on the House floor.

Both men were clear that they see the war entering a new phase. As Russia sends more troops to the frontlines and wages a brutal air campaign against civilian targets, fears of a stalemate are growing.

Yet as Zelensky departed Washington for a lengthy and similarly risky return trip to Ukraine, it wasn’t clear that a pathway to ending the conflict was any clearer.

“For me as a president, ‘just peace’ is no compromises,” he said, indicating he doesn’t see any road to peace that involves Ukraine giving up territory or sovereignty.

Later, in his address to Congress, Zelensky said he’d presented a 10-point peace formula to Biden – though US officials said afterward it was the same plan he offered to world leaders at the Group of 20 summit last month.

For his part, Biden said it was up to Zelensky to “decide how he wants to the war to end,” a long-held view that leaves plenty of questions unanswered.

Zelensky peppered his address to lawmakers with references to American history, from the critical Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolutionary War to the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

He delivered his address in English, a purposeful choice he telegraphed ahead of the speech. Even his attire – the now-familiar Army green shirt, cargo pants and boots – seemed designed to remind his audience they were in the presence of a wartime leader.

Zelensky: How the United States Can Help to Attempt to Bring About Power to the Curvature of America, not to the Stars

Zelensky has an ability to appeal to his audience, and he demonstrated this over the course of the conflict.

He wanted to use Americans’ emotional response to the suffering of his own country to bring about some sort of restoration of power to his country.

“In two days we will celebrate Christmas. Maybe candlelit. He said there will not be electricity, but not because it is more romantic.

He was aware that many Americans wondered aloud why billions of US dollars were needed for a conflict thousands of miles away. He wanted to make the cause bigger than his homeland.

It isn’t hard to see the tension just beneath the surface. Zelensky has been demanding for more US support, despite Biden directing millions of dollars in military assistance to his country.

It has been a problem with Biden or his team. Biden appeared to be intending to translate physical proximity into a better understanding of his counterpart.

“It is all about looking someone in the eye. I mean it sincerely. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to look at your foe in the eye while sitting down face to face.

Zelenskyy’s Violation of the War Crimes and the U.S.-Russia Constraints on the Security of the Cold War

He said Zelenskyy’s visit proved that the US was in a proxy war with Russia and that there had been no calls for peace.

This is not the first time Russia has accused Western nations of turning the conflict into a proxy war by supplying Ukraine with weapons. (Iran has acknowledged providing military drones to Russia.)

The Russian public largely buys that line from the Putin government, according to a Russian history professor.

“You could say that the majority of Russian people, although they are weary of the conflict, they still see this as an existential struggle between Russia and the West in which Ukraine is being played for a pawn,” he tells NPR’s Morning Edition.

Moscow had warned last week that it would see the reported delivery of Patriot missiles to Ukraine as “another provocative move by the U.S.” Does Sloat worry this could provoke a Russian escalation?

“Patriots are a defensive weapons system that will help Ukraine defend itself as Russia sends missile after missile and drone after drone to try and destroy Ukrainian infrastructure and kill Ukrainian civilians,” she said. If Russia doesn’t want their missiles shot down, they should stop sending them into Ukraine.

The foreign minister of the Ukranian government said on Monday that he wants a peace summit by the end of February, which will coincide with the anniversary of Russia’s war.

But Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told The Associated Press that Russia could only be invited to such a summit if the country faced a war crimes tribunal first.

Kuleba tells the Foreign Ministry that Ukraine will do everything it can to win the war in 2023 and deny Russia’s membership on the United Nations Security Council

Kuleba also said he was “absolutely satisfied” with the results of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. last week, and he revealed that the U.S. government had made a special plan to get the Patriot missile battery ready to be operational in the country in less than six months. The training takes up to a year.

Kuleba said during the interview at the Foreign Ministry that Ukraine will do whatever it can to win the war in 2023, adding that diplomacy always plays an important role.

The Foreign Minister said the UN would be the most natural broker for those talks. This is not about making a favor to a country, and the United Nations is the best place to hold this summit. This is about getting everyone on board.

Kuleba said that, “He has proven himself to be an efficient mediator and an efficient Negotiator, and most importantly, as a man of principle and integrity.” So we would welcome his active participation.”

“They regularly say that they are ready for negotiations, which is not true, because everything they do on the battlefield proves the opposite,” he said.

“This shows how both the United States are important for Ukraine, but also how Ukraine is important for the United States,” said Kuleba, who was part of the delegation to the U.S.

He said that the U.S. government developed a program for the missile battery to complete training fast so that it wouldn’t cause damage to the quality of the weapon on the battlefield.

While Kuleba didn’t mention a specific time frame, he said only that it will be “very much less than six months.” He said that the training will be done outside of Ukranian.

The UN Security Council should exclude Russia from being a member because of its involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. Kuleba said they are prepared for this step to uncover the fraud and deny Russia’s status.

The Foreign Ministry says that the Russian didn’t go through legal channels to get a membership on the U.N. Security Council.

The Cold War between Ukraine and the West: Putin’s Foreign Minister Unlikely Intllls During the July 11 Ukrainian Blitzkrieg

The slightly conciliatory tone from Putin was quickly shattered by a strong message from one of his key officials.

Sergey Lavrov, Putin’s foreign minister, said Monday that Ukraine must fulfill Russia’s demands for the “demilitarization and denazification” of Ukrainian-controlled territories, repeating Moscow’s well-worn and false accusation of Nazism against Ukraine, which it has used in an attempt to justify its invasion.

Alexander Rodnyansky is an economic adviser to President Zelensky and he told CNN Tuesday that Putin was trying to buy time in the conflict.

The Kremlin is trying to discourage the world from sending military aid to Ukraine because it knows that the blitzkrieg went badly for them, according to Rodnyansky. We must not fall into that trap.

Thus, it makes no sense for the West to even consider the possibility of a deal that would reward Putin for invading Ukraine.

Since the end of the Summer War, a series of counter attacks have pushed back Russian troops and made the world believe that Kyiv can win the war.

But Zelensky and his officials have said throughout that they will continue to sound out the possibility of negotiations, without raising any hopes that they would achieve a truce.

“Every war ends in a diplomatic way,” Kuleba told the AP on Monday. “Every war ends as a result of the actions taken on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.”

The steps includes a path to nuclear safety, food security, a special tribunal for alleged Russian war crimes, and a final peace treaty with Moscow. He told the G20 leaders to use their power to make Russia abandon nuclear threats and to institute a price cap on energy imports from Moscow.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/27/europe/ukraine-russia-negotiations-putin-unlikely-intl/index.html

The Problem of Ukraine and the War between the United States and Russia: What Mr. Lula and Mr. Biden could say about the Russia-Ukraine War

A decisive swing on the battlefield in the New Year could force a change in the calculus, but both sides are dug into what will many observers believe could become a long and grinding conflict.

One subject in particular has the potential for sparking discussion, and that is the issue of Ukraine.

While Mr. Lula has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he has also suggested in the past that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and NATO share some blame, and he has hesitated to sell weapons to Ukraine in an effort to maintain neutrality. Brazil has a dependence on Russia for 25% of its fertilizers imports and this has an effect on its position on the Russia-Ukraine war.

Mr. Lula wants to try to help mediate peace in the conflict, while Mr. Biden is far more supportive of Ukraine, with little expectation that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has any interest in peace.

“We need to find interlocutors who can sit with President Putin to show him the mistake he made to invade Ukraine’s territory, and we have to show Ukraine that they need to talk more so we can avoid this war,” Mr. Lula said in an interview with CNN that aired Friday.