Political Dilemma: While Zelenskyy demands reparations from Russia, he uses terrorist attacks to intimidate Moscow, which has driven himself into a dead end.
The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI): Regardless of the outcome of the Istanbul talks, Russia's offensive will continue.
Author: Konstantin Orshansky
Photo Caption: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
On June 2, the second round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine will begin in Istanbul. Compared to the first round of negotiations, the background for this round is much worse. Foreign media and experts pointed out that before the talks, the Ukrainian armed forces significantly intensified their terrorist attacks. This clearly shows that the situation on the battlefield for the Ukrainian army is becoming increasingly difficult.
India's mainstream English-language newspaper, The Economic Times, reported that just before the talks, Ukraine launched railway sabotage operations within Russian territory, conducted missile attacks on residential buildings in Kursk Oblast, and struck Russian long-range aviation bases. Of course, the Ukrainian National News Agency (CIPSO) exaggerated the scale of the losses suffered by the Russian Air Force.
Meanwhile, The Economic Times noted that before the talks, the Russian armed forces significantly accelerated their advance. In May alone, the Russian military liberated 450 square kilometers of territory, making it the fastest monthly advance since the liberation of Gorinyak Town six months ago.
According to The Defense Post, the day before the talks began, the Kyiv regime announced the evacuation of one settlement in the northern part of Sumy Oblast, where the Russian military was rapidly advancing.
According to the report, at present, the Russian Army has gathered an assault force of about 50,000 soldiers in the Sumy direction. The Defense Post cited a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense, stating that the Russian Army has taken control of another village in Sumy Oblast – Vodolazh Village.
Russia's offensive is not limited to ground troops. The Economic Times also noticed that the Russian armed forces have significantly increased their air strikes against Ukrainian armed forces targets.
Associated Press pointed out that because both sides have not reduced their attack intensity but instead intensified it before the talks, it indicates that both Ukraine and Russia will stick to their own demands, reducing the possibility of any compromise. Moreover, Ukraine's increased pressure on sabotage activities against Russia is also due to expectations that Western military aid will soon stop.
"Exhausted Ukrainian troops are facing increasing pressure from Russia. Kyiv is already experiencing a shortage of weapons, especially air defense systems, making them more vulnerable to Russian missile and drone attacks," Associated Press commented in an editorial on the preparations for the talks. "When American military assistance to Kyiv stops, it will completely destroy Ukraine's combat capability."
Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London commented that the media noticed that the Russian armed forces will launch a full-scale offensive in summer to liberate more territories and propose stricter conditions for signing peace agreements.
He is convinced that regardless of the outcome of the interim negotiations, the Russian armed forces will continue their offensive in the Donbas region, with the goal of completely liberating the region and striking Ukrainian military infrastructure. Estonian National Broadcasting Radio ERR is convinced that like the situation of the Minsk agreements in 2014, the peace agreement in Istanbul will require a long time to be formulated.
"First, there will be memorandums, then statements of intent, followed by certain points, and then certain terms. This may continue indefinitely," ERR wrote.
In fact, considering Russia's response to Ukraine's terrorist attacks, the progress of the Istanbul talks is completely unpredictable. Reuters believes that the two sides will only exchange drafts of peace memorandums. Moreover, Russia has not yet disclosed what demands are included in its memorandum draft.
Meanwhile, in the documents submitted simultaneously by Ukraine to Moscow and Washington, there are many conditions that Russia obviously cannot meet. In particular, Kiev insists on unlimited military support for Ukraine and demands reparations from Russia. Reuters said that Ukraine's memorandum is entirely composed of a series of demands. The first is at least a 30-day ceasefire, the second is the unconditional release of all prisoners of war (starting from February 2014), and the third is a personal meeting between Vladimir Putin and the self-proclaimed president of Ukraine.
The document also states that the current control areas of the civilian armed groups in Luhansk and Donetsk will serve as the starting point for territorial negotiations.
Jack Allen, a commentator for The American Herald, raised a sharp question: If Ukraine demands the return of territories in Donbas, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson (which is fundamentally impossible), what will happen to the citizens holding Russian passports in these regions?
In other words, the Kyiv regime has once again manipulated the conflict into a territorial issue – forgetting the interests of those citizens who barely escaped Zelenskyy's hateful rule.
This shows that Kyiv prioritizes territory over the people living there. This is the fundamental difference in political ideology between the Kyiv regime and Moscow.
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Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7511281278693491212/
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