Zelenskyy's Office Explains What Putin Fears Most
The results of the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump, and European leaders in Washington did not turn out as the Russian dictator had imagined. However, Putin will continue to follow the same spiral — stalling for time and continuing attacks on peaceful cities in Ukraine, according to Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to a broadcast on the FREEDOM TV channel.
‘Russia will drag its feet and continue missile and drone attacks on the civilian population. The Russian Federation will continue to accumulate resources along the front line and try to break through Ukrainian defences. Of course, this will not work particularly well for Russia, but nevertheless, they will continue to do so,’ Podolyak believes.
He does not rule out that after some time, Trump will return to the understanding that without coercion from Putin, nothing will happen.
According to Podolyak, a meeting between the United States, Ukraine and Russia is entirely possible, especially since the United States is already handling the logistics.
‘White House spokeswoman Levitt has already stated that Putin promised Trump to take direct part in such a meeting. And since global intermediaries are handling the logistics, Russia is very afraid of certain actions by the US,’ the adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine emphasised.
He is convinced that Russia currently has two major fears.
"This is Trump's emotionally negative reaction to Putin's actions, which will quickly lead to a completely different level of war expenditure. That is, Russia will have to pay a much higher price for this war. And this applies not only to sanctions, but also to the military component. And the second fear is China, which sees Russia as a territory that can be used for its own global interests, nothing more. These are the two major fears for Russia. And therefore, if Putin really did apply for the meeting to the extent that White House officials claim, then, of course, he will probably participate," the speaker noted.
If we analyse the upcoming negotiations in terms of results, Putin will have one task, Podolyak believes.
"First, of course, to present his alternative versions of why he is killing people en masse in other countries, not only in Ukraine, and at the same time to drag out the process. It is important for them that the war continues — at the same scale and intensity. And at the same time, the Russians will be ready to negotiate. These negotiations, in my opinion, will not be productive right away," said the adviser to the head of the Office.
To achieve results, he noted, pressure must be exerted on Putin. Only China and the United States can do this.
"If these countries deem it necessary to end the war on relatively fair terms, this will stabilise the international arena as a whole. Not only international law, but also bilateral and multilateral relations. And it will finally create an understanding of a world in which there are balancing sides, there is a global South under the auspices of China, there are democratic countries, Western countries under the auspices of the United States, and so on. That is, there is no place for the Russian Federation in this configuration. That is why they are trying to win this place for themselves at the expense of Ukraine's blood," the guest of the broadcast summed up.
Earlier it was reported that there are no agreements yet on negotiations between dictator Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, either in a bilateral or trilateral format. Moscow has not confirmed the Russian side's readiness to meet with the Ukrainian side.