Vladimir Putin in a televised address from the Kremlin, November 22, 2024
EA on Times Radio: Will Trump Break Up With Putin Over Ukraine?
UPDATE 1806 GMT:
In a 27-minute VideoCast, I chat with Times Radio’s Frontline about Vladimir Putin’s miscalculation with the mass murder in Kyiv, opening up space for Ukraine and Europe to regain the initiative in negotiations to end Moscow’s invasion.
Putin threw away his diplomatic advantage last Thursday. Ukraine and Europe, who have played a pretty good hand, used the setpiece of Pope Francis’ funeral to work on Trump.
I also go into detail about the farce of the visit of Donald Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, to Putin in Moscow — and why it backfired on Moscow.
UPDATE 1443 GMT:
I spoke with Australia’s ABC on Tuesday to consider how Russia lost the diplomatic advantage over its invasion of Ukraine.
I evaluate how Vladimir Putin tried to regain that advantage with the proclamation of a three-day ceasefire from May 8 to 11, but how Russian Foreign Sergey Lavrov undercut that by restating the Kremlin’s maximum terms for the capitulation of Kyiv.
This invasion only ends is when Vladimir Putin think he has achieved all his objectives — or when he is firmly stopped from doing so.
I also consider what happens next by considering the split within the Trump Administration over the approach to Ukraine and Russia.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: I joined France 24 English on Monday to analyze how Vladimir Putina and Russia are on the diplomatic defensive over their 38-month full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
I discuss how the Kremlin, having presented its demands via the Trump Administration, lost the advantage with last week’s mass murder in Kyiv. I explain how Putin tried to recover with the sham declaration of a three-day ceasefire from May 8-11, and discuss the likely situation in the absence of an agreement to halt the invasion.
At this point, we need to be honest: the Kremlin is not looking to make any compromise.
