The Kremlin wants to force Trump to pressure Ukraine into making concessions

The Kremlin is trying to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to return to the agreements on Ukraine that Moscow considers to have been reached during the meeting in Anchorage, in order to secure concessions from Kyiv.

This is discussed in a column by Thomas Graham, a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, for The National Interest.

The author believes that recent contacts between Moscow and Washington, particularly Putin’s talks with Trump and Lavrov’s discussions with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, indicate the Kremlin’s desire to resume the negotiation process.

According to Graham, Moscow is attempting to achieve through diplomatic means what it cannot achieve on the battlefield, particularly regarding control over the Donetsk region.

He notes that the situation for Russia in the war is becoming more complicated: the winter offensives against Ukraine did not yield the expected results, and the Russian advance, according to the author’s assessment, is losing momentum.

Graham believes that the U.S. should not force Ukraine to make territorial concessions but should instead focus on securing a ceasefire along the current front line.

The presidents of Poland and Romania, Karol Nawrocki and Nicușor Dan, expressed deep skepticism regarding Vladimir Putin’s latest statements about the Russian Federation’s alleged readiness for peace talks. 

Putin began talking about “ending the war” due to serious problems in the rear and on the front lines.