Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky with Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Oslo, September 8, 2026

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EA-Frontline VideoCast: Ukraine and “Diplomacy of the Doomed” — Trump’s Envoys in the Kremlin

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I joined Ukrainian journalist Daniel Tkiie to analyze Kyiv’s maneuvers to blunt Russia’s winter aerial assault — possibly Vladimir Putin’s last gamble for “victory” — in the 54 1/2 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

I begin with a dissection of last weekend’s trips to Moscow and Kyiv by Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, a “diplomacy of the doomed” given Putin’s maximalist demands for Ukraine’s surrender.

I consider the evidence of a divided Trump Administration, contrasting the Witkoff-Kushner approach with that of CIA Director John Ratcliffe two weeks earlier in Moscow, and the futility of a mission pursue “talks just to restart talks”.

Then I look at Ukraine’s preparations for the forthcoming Russian offensive and whether reliable partners will provide necessary support for Kyiv. I set that in the context of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s political maneuvers to cast the Kremlin as the villain rejecting negotiations.

I also evaluate Putin’s international isolation and, if the winter offensive fails, whether he can continue the invasion.