Russian invasion

The fighting
British general: “NATO has failed Ukraine – they cannot win against Russia”

Ukraine cannot win the war against Russia and should therefore negotiate peace with the Kremlin. This is what former British commander-in-chief David Richards says in an interview on The Independent’s podcast “World of Trouble”.

According to Richards, Ukraine does not have the manpower to repel the Russian forces themselves. To win, they need help from NATO – and NATO will not intervene, because Ukraine is not an “existential issue”, he says.

– Obviously, that is it for the Russians.

By their actions, the West has failed Ukraine, says Richards.

– What we have done is we have encouraged Ukraine to fight, but we have not given them the means to win. 

Negotiations
Sources: Putin Demands All of Donetsk in Exchange for Peace

Vladimir Putin is willing to give up parts of the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson, in exchange for Kyiv giving up the entire Donetsk region. The Russian president is said to have made the demand in a phone call with Donald Trump earlier this week, two sources familiar with the conversation told the Washington Post.

The newspaper describes the demand as somewhat less territorial than the one Putin made at the summit in Alaska this summer. Some White House officials see it as progress, the sources said.

The Ukrainians, however, do not seem to see the demand that way, an unnamed diplomat told the WP.

“It’s like selling their own leg back to them in exchange for nothing,” the diplomat said.

Trump has not commented on Russia’s demand to control all of Donetsk. 

Report: Trump repeated Russian arguments – threw maps and “sweared constantly”

Donald Trump has urged Volodymyr Zelenskyj to agree to Vladimir Putin’s demands for peace, sources tell the Financial Times. According to the newspaper’s information, this week’s meeting degenerated into a loud brawl in which Trump “sweared constantly”.

Trump is said to have repeated arguments that Putin made in the phone call that the presidents held the day before, including that Ukraine must give up the entire Donbas region.

The American president is also said to have said that Vladimir Putin can “destroy” Ukraine if “he wants to” and threw away maps showing the situation on the fronts. Zelensky is said to have left the meeting with a pessimistic feeling.