President Zelensky will not accept the maximalist deal that Putin is pushing now, because he knows that the moment he does, the popularity he’s gained in the war will be destroyed.
Ukraine is now hostage to its own propaganda. I think that many Ukrainians actually believe that they’re winning the war and that if they don’t stop Putin, they will all die. So they will not surrender.
It’s really tragic, but I don’t think that they will accept a peace settlement that makes them semi-dependent on the aggressor, even if it saves their cities. The ugliest days of this war are in front of us, not behind us.
Editor’s note: Zelensky went on record saying that he has “cooled off on NATO” and then that Ukraine “must admit” it will never become part of NATO, but then goes on to demand a US naval blockade or Russia, an aerial war against Russia, and a total economic embargo.
If he wants Moscow to back down he will need to show that Ukraine can be something other than an Anti-Russia.
