As US special envoy Steve Witkoff stands The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, describing the state of negotiations moderated by Washington between Russia and Ukraine, he expressed the same kind of optimism always you have time it asked about the uncontrollable war.
“I think we have put it in one issue,” he said. “We have discussed the repetition of that issue and that means it can be resolved.”
But that one problem has been about that for the past four years: Russia’s desire to conquer and control more of Ukraine’s land.
After Witkoff and the rest of the delegation met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow late Friday, the American delegation headed to Abu Dhabi for trilateral talks with Ukraine and Russia.
The meetings, which are expected to last until Saturday, are a sign of new momentum, but not of compromise, as the Kremlin appears unwilling to abandon its major demands, and insists that Kyiv cede about 5,000 square kilometers to the Donetsk region.i an area roughly the size of Prince Edward Island.
Russia was unable to capture this area during its all-out offensive, which has been ongoing from February 2022.
It wants the land to be handed over through peace talks. The district it includes the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, heavily fortified communities that were each home to more than 100,000 people before the full-scale Russian invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already rejected that scenario. But even if Kyiv agreed, territorial concessions would not be Moscow’s only demands.
“Hope on the American side is based on the tactics of the Russian people,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, a Russian political analyst and founder of the firm iR. Politics.
“From Russia’s point of view, this is just the beginning.”
Russia wants all the Donba and more
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that apart from the Donbas region, other “nuances” are still on the agenda. He did not go into detail, but on January 20 during a press conference in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confused others for the world the rest is negotiable.
He said Moscow will not allow the West to continue arming Ukraine, or accept anything that lasts that’s what he called the ruling “Nazi regime”. The Russian government often uses these baseless claims as leverage to forgive its war.
Stanovaya says that Lavrov’s statement is a reminder that Russia has not abandoned its goal to control the political direction of Ukraine.
The focus may be on the Donba for now, but he says that if and when an agreement is finally reached, Russia will put its other demands on the table.
“They think that if Ukraine withdraws from Donbas it will change the situation … and it will be easier for Russia to move forward with its other demands.”
In an effort to find compromise, and end the war that US President Donald Trump had previously boasted about.As it resolved on the day, Washington floated the idea of creating a free economic zone in the areas of Donetsk controlled by Ukraine. Donetsk and Luhansk regions make up the Donbas, which is a major industrial and coal mining area.
It is understood that this area will be removed from the war, but there are no other details on how this area will work, and what is the guarantee.it will be in place to prevent Russia from launching another attack.
The growing number of dead
On Friday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had seized the village of Symynivka in Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv region. If true, this It could be the latest battlefield advantage that has come at a great price.
In Davos, Trump said an estimated 31,000 soldiers died in the war last month, but did not specify where that information came from, or how many. from Russia or Ukraine.
Neither side has commented recently on the rising death toll, but last week UK Ministry of Defence he said that by 2025 Russia may have more than 400,000 casualties, including the wounded.
It is not clear how many Ukrainian soldiers have lost.
“I think Putin is dead,” said Robert Wilkie, who worked as secretary of veterans affairs in Trump’s first administration, during an interview with BBC Radio on Friday morning.
“I think the only thing stopping him is being completely defeated on the battlefield.”
Wilkie said Keith Kellogg, who recently left his post as US ambassador to Ukraine, expressed his frustration that people are not listening to Putin.
By that, Wilkie meant that Putin has been talking for decades about wanting to “dominate” or basically absorb Ukraine.
He said he does not agree with Witkoff’s hope that an agreement is close, as well as Russian or Ukrainian officials.
Zelenskyy said the meeting in Abu Dhabi, which he called the first trilateral dialogue between the three, “is a step forward.”
“God willing, [the discussion] it may take different forms before the end of the war,” he told reporters.
Zelenskyy said documents related to Ukraine’s security guarantees have been drafted and are ready to be signed by Kyiv and Washington.
He had hoped to be able to sign them in Davos, but that did not happen.
“I’m waiting for President Trump to say the date and place,” he said in response to a question from reporters.
