Ukraine's Top General Deters Talk of Concessions in Peace Proposals скачать в хорошем качестве

Ukraine's Top General Deters Talk of Concessions in Peace Proposals

Bloomberg Opinion Columnist Marc Champion discusses his latest opinion piece on the war in Ukraine, which follows the outlook of Ukraine's top military commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi. He wrote, "Over the past week, Ukraine’s top military commander has given his most detailed assessment yet of the fight to halt Russia’s invasion. This wasn’t prompted by any sudden battlefield reversal. It reflects, rather, a deep and justifiable alarm that Kyiv has lost control of the war’s narrative, just as the US tries to force it into a terrible ceasefire deal. General Oleksandr Syrskyi is an old-school, Soviet-trained officer and by all accounts little loved by his troops. He has to be cajoled by his communications team to speak in public at all. So, when he gives major interviews to both Ukrainian domestic media and German public TV in the space of a week, it’s worth paying attention. The main point he tried to get across was that, yes, the situation at the front is bad, because Russia is bigger. It has a much larger population and economy and cares less about casualties. But not since the first days of his invasion has President Vladimir Putin been able to translate that advantage into a successful ground offensive of the kind that Ukrainian troops mounted, twice, in the late summer and fall of 2022. Russia continues to move forward at a rate of just 1.5-4.5 kilometers (0.9-2.8 miles) per month, at enormous cost. So you could feel Syrskyi’s exasperation as he complained to Germany’s ZDF TV that 'even Russian military manuals say breaking through fortified defenses should develop at a rate of 1.5-3 kilometers per day. Instead, they achieve 1.5 kilometers per month. So, the question is: Can this honestly be considered a successful offensive?'” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy floated the prospect of allowing Ukrainians to vote on whether to hand the Donbas region to Russia as Kyiv comes under mounting pressure to agree to terms of an emerging US peace plan.  Moscow has insisted that Ukraine withdraw its forces from the eastern territories, which include areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that the Russian military has failed to capture in its nearly four-year invasion.  Zelenskiy has engaged in talks over the latest peace proposal from President Donald Trump’s administration, but has maintained his position that Ukraine won’t consider surrendering territory to the Kremlin.  “The Russians want the whole of Donbas — we don’t accept that,” Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv on Thursday, referring to Ukraine’s eastern regions. “I believe that the Ukrainian people will answer this question. Whether in the form of elections or a referendum, the Ukrainian people must have a say.” Ukrainian territory is at the center of running discussions among Washington, Kyiv and Moscow as negotiators inch toward a potential agreement to end the war. Zelenskiy said the US has discussed turning the area into a “free economic zone,” while Russia has opted for a “demilitarized zone.” “The Americans are searching for an appropriate format,” the president said. “Let’s see how this all plays out. Right now, I believe that a lot depends on our army.” Zelenskiy said in a social media post on Thursday that he’d held a “constructive and in-depth discussion” on a document on security guarantees with American officials earlier that day, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and special envoy Steve Witkoff. He followed that post with a separate one on his meeting with partners in the so-called coalition of the willing of more than 30 countries. -------- Watch Bloomberg Radio LIVE on YouTube Weekdays 7am-6pm ET WATCH HERE: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF Follow us on X:   / bloombergradio   Subscribe to our Podcasts: Bloomberg Daybreak: http://bit.ly/3DWYoAN Bloomberg Surveillance: http://bit.ly/3OPtReI Bloomberg Intelligence: http://bit.ly/3YrBfOi Balance of Power: http://bit.ly/3OO8eLC Bloomberg Businessweek: http://bit.ly/3IPl60i Listen on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app: Apple CarPlay: https://apple.co/486mghI Android Auto: https://bit.ly/49benZy Visit our YouTube channels: Bloomberg Podcasts:    / bloombergpodcasts   Bloomberg Television:    / @markets   Bloomberg Originals:    / bloomberg   Quicktake:    / @bloombergquicktake