I really can’t see Putin giving in on any of these myself. These are the red lines Russia outlined a while back, and they remained consistent on their position. If anything, I think it’s likely that Russia plans to take more territory as opposed to less. The reality is that Russia is in a very strong bargaining position here. The US very clearly wants to extricate itself from the war, and time is on Russia’s side. If the US doesn’t accept the deal, then Russia will just continue to do what it’s doing.
Furthermore, the Kursk collapse couldn’t have come at a worse time for the US. There are pretty much no fortifications in the Sumy region, and Russia can just keep rolling all the way to Kiev from there. The AFU has no choice but to try and stop that by pulling troops from the southern front that’s already collapsing. The longer the US waits to make a deal the strong position Russia will be in.
I really can’t see Putin giving in on any of these myself. These are the red lines Russia outlined a while back, and they remained consistent on their position. If anything, I think it’s likely that Russia plans to take more territory as opposed to less. The reality is that Russia is in a very strong bargaining position here. The US very clearly wants to extricate itself from the war, and time is on Russia’s side. If the US doesn’t accept the deal, then Russia will just continue to do what it’s doing.
Furthermore, the Kursk collapse couldn’t have come at a worse time for the US. There are pretty much no fortifications in the Sumy region, and Russia can just keep rolling all the way to Kiev from there. The AFU has no choice but to try and stop that by pulling troops from the southern front that’s already collapsing. The longer the US waits to make a deal the strong position Russia will be in.
God I hope the Trump admin keeps bickering with Ukraine and Europe to give them enough time to humiliate themselves.