According to M. Podoliak, Ukraine is also considering the option of freezing the conflict along the current front line to create conditions for further “complex negotiations.”
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M. Podoliak believes that the Russian president is not showing readiness for compromises or acceptance of peace proposals. In his opinion, V. Putin is stuck on his own idea, which prevents him from adequately responding to arguments and seeking ways to resolve the conflict.
“You have heard his rhetoric, seen his faded eyes – this once again emphasizes that he is detached from reality,” says Podoliak.
He also noted that V. Zelensky is ready for a personal meeting with V. Putin to discuss a possible peaceful resolution of the conflict. On August 3, the Ukrainian president stated that he aims to end the conflict with Russia before the start of winter.
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In the summer, V. Putin’s position on conflict resolution changed: the Russian side no longer considers the possibility of returning part of the occupied territories to Ukraine under a ceasefire agreement. Moscow intends to maintain control over territories in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions as a buffer zone, while V. Putin seeks to fully take control of Donbas and believes that negotiations could only be resumed after achieving this goal.
V. Zelensky has repeatedly rejected territorial concessions. Ukraine needs a “decent” peace agreement with Russia, and Ukrainian representatives are working with Donald Trump’s team, Volodymyr Zelensky stated on July 22 after a phone conversation with US presidential advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. US representatives plan to visit Kyiv in August.
The head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Kyrylo Budanov, has said that Kyiv is ready to continue combat operations for years.
