"The negotiations over the war in Ukraine are frustrating and tragic. On the one side, a victim of aggression whose plight is more and more desperate. On the other, a brutal aggressor, willing to go to extraordinary lengths to win the war. In the middle, a transactional American president eager for a deal. It's no surprise that so many observers have railed against the proposals recently put forward by President Donald Trump and his emissary Steve Witkoff."
"But here is the problem: in the past, Kyiv and its partners repeatedly overestimated its leverage to end the war on favorable terms, only to find itself confronted with further Russian gains and a weaker negotiating position months later. That Ukraine's leaders did this under immense strain and encouraged by western promises of long-term support is tragic but does not change the reality."
Negotiations over the war in Ukraine pit a desperate victim against a brutal aggressor, with a transactional American president pressing for a deal. Recent proposals would grant substantial concessions to Russia while offering Ukraine little beyond an end to immediate violence. Ukraine cannot accept a settlement that leaves it without postwar security because security is central to sovereignty and would be political suicide for Ukrainian leaders. Kyiv and its partners repeatedly overestimated Ukraine's leverage, pursued maximalist goals when more modest compromises might have been attainable, and lost opportunities as Russia advanced. Continued battlefield losses have weakened Ukraine's bargaining position.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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