The American-brokered peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia is not becoming more and more unlikely by that day.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, were founded at a conference in London to bring peace to Eastern Europe. This comes after Ukraine just rejected the US proposal for a deal that would allow Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. “Ukraine will not legally recognize Crimea's occupation,” Ukrainian President Voldimia Zelensky said on Tuesday. “There's nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution.”
The White House was increasingly frustrated as efforts to end the war “on the first day” went into the third month with little promise on the horizon as Trump candidates repeatedly vowed. In an interview with NBC News in March, Trump said he was “offended” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and threatened to level the secondary tariffs on Russia. The Kremlin rejected ink for the 30-day full ceasefire agreement that Ukraine agreed to. Witkoff's three visits to Russia only received 30-day ceasefires against Ukrainian energy infrastructure and a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea. And now it appears that Americans are ready to leave.
Negotiation at the intersection
Reflecting previous comments from Rubio and Trump, Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday that negotiations will be at the intersection. Speaking to reporters during their visit to Agra in India, Vance said: “We have issued a very clear proposal for both Russians and Ukrainians. It's when they say yes, or the US is leaving this process.” In his time as an Ohio Senator, Vance was one of the few Republicans who opposed Ukrainian aides. He also acknowledges that the fate of Ukraine has little interest to him. In an interview with Steve Bannon just days before Russia's invasion in 2022, Vance told Trump advisors:
Trump told reporters Friday that if both parties do not meet the conditions “soon,” the US will “take a pass.” “We will continue to fly around the world and not continue to hold meetings after meetings. We will move on in some way to other topics that are less important, if not more equal to the United States,” Rubio said on the same day.
Russia's demands
Among Russia's demands for peace agreements is its recognition of its “new border.” In addition to Crimea, Russia already occupying the eastern border region of Ukraine. Putin has no plans to abandon his territory that will sacrifice his army to capture three years and hundreds of thousands of soldiers. And given that the two countries have been caught up in a fierce battle all this time, except for intervention from other countries, there is little chance that Ukraine will acquire its territory. In fact, the longer the war continues, the greater the progress Russia makes. Ukraine is entirely dependent on the weapons and technology of Western countries throughout the war. He has also experienced significant talent issues for quite some time.
NATO Issues
US officials also agree that Ukraine should be locked out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in line with the important Russian demand. The Ukrainian Parliament passed the law in 2019 to codify the pursuit of NATO membership, the main trigger for Russian invasion. Mainstream Western media claim that Russian invasions are not entirely provocative, but Russia has been complaining about NATO's Eastern expansion for decades. They view NATO as a hostile alliance. US diplomat George Kennan, who wrote the US policy to contain the Soviet Union in 1947, warned that NATO expansion would trigger a violent Russian response. In 1997, Kennan said, “Expanding NATO would be the most fateful mistake of American foreign policy in the entire post-Cold War era.”
Kennan wrote on February 5, 1997, The New York Times wrote that in 1996, Western leaders decided “somehow” to expand NATO to the Russian border. He said this would be a terrible foreign policy move:
Frankly, expanding NATO would be the most fateful mistake of American policy in the entire post-Cold War era. (Russia) Of course, there is no choice but to accept expansion as an accomplice in the military fait. But they will continue to see it as a Western rejection, and will likely be looking elsewhere to ensure their own safe and hopeful future.
Given that Kenan predicted an invasion in 2022, it could also be argued that a more recent chunk of Russia with China and Iran proves he is right in his latter respect.
Proxy War
On March 29, The New York Times acknowledged that the conflict in Eastern Europe was a proxy war between the United States and Russia all along. While America's role in Ukraine's military operations is not “hidden,” it confirms that the US has provided intelligence reporting, strategy, technology and weapons. As for intelligence, military Intel and the CIA have lifted their plans.
The Times article was approved (and possibly commissioned) by Times Dove with “surprising transparency.” Nevertheless, for some reason, it confirms that the United States is “the backbone of Ukrainian military operations,” claiming it has led to the deaths of 700,000 Russians and 435,000 Ukrainians. The number of casualties depends on who is reporting it. In February, Zelensky reported an incredibly incredible 46,000 victim toll. Independent journalists and commentators have reported around 1 million casualties against Ukrainians and hundreds of thousands to Russians. The Russians have not even tried to broadcast victim propaganda since 2022.
In a Times article, the Pentagon boasts about how it has continuously tracked and targeted “the 58th Combined Army, one of Russia's most horrifying combat groups.” Perhaps this was an attempt by a higher in the US military complex to embarrass Russia's leadership in front of the whole world, and there would be no choice but to wage war with retired states.
According to the Pentagon, the war was on track until the Ukrainians insisted on making their own decisions.
Ukrainians sometimes view Americans as overwhelming and dominant. Sometimes Americans couldn't understand why Ukrainians simply didn't accept good advice. …As Ukrainians gained greater autonomy in partnerships, they are increasingly keeping their intentions secret. They forever angered that the Americans could not or could not give them all the weapons and other equipment they wanted. Americans were angry at what they saw as an unreasonable demand for Ukrainians.
Surprisingly, the Pentagon had always been aware that US involvement was at risk of nuclear escalation, but that continued. Trump cites the possibility of a nuclear breakout on his part as an important reason for the US to pull back and mediate peace.
Russia's victory?
Meanwhile, the Russians are taking the victorious lap. Putin runs high as he took 20% of Ukraine and was drawn from conflict with Ukraine's most powerful and perhaps only capable military allies. Speaking at a meeting of Russia's Military Industry Commission on Wednesday, he said that all world troops were taking notes on the Kremlin tactics and technology deployed against Ukraine. According to the Russian state-run organ RT, one of the countries that pays attention is China.
China is also deploying a herd of low-cost drones and taking notes with an emphasis on creating AI-driven coordination systems.
Before closing, the Russian media mouthpiece takes a jab west:
Meanwhile, as fighting in Ukraine intensified, Russia has acquired a large amount of Western-supported equipment, including tanks, armored vehicles, portable missile systems and NATO standard communications systems.
