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There are currently no signs that Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin is ready to begin negotiations to end the war against Ukraine. According to experts, the outcome of the US presidential election is unlikely to change his position, CNN reports.
In particular, in a conversation with the publication, Thomas Graham, an expert on Russian foreign policy and a researcher at the Council on International Relations, noted that after the elections in the USA, the country may find itself at a crossroads. Graham believes that Putin may try to take advantage of "differences in the unity of the West."
"In the absence of Western unity, in the absence of a clear demonstration that the West and Ukraine have a shared vision of what they're trying to achieve ... Putin has no reason to reconsider what he's doing in Ukraine right now," Graham said.
Graham also mentioned the statements of Donald Trump, who promised to end the war in Ukraine in one day, but noted that he does not see a quick solution to the conflict. According to him, it is not known what leverage Trump has in mind, but it is unlikely to be a quick process.
According to Graham, the reduction of support from the United States could affect the situation at the front.
Another expert, John Lough of Chatham House, noted that for Putin, Ukraine is a means to achieve a more global goal: limiting US influence in world affairs. He also suggested that Trump's position on Putin could change if he viewed China as a major threat to the United States.
The CNN article also notes that, according to NATO, more than 600 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded during the war in Ukraine. Despite such significant losses, this does not stop Putin.
Oleh Shiryaev, the commander of the Ukrainian battalion, said that the enemy is building up its forces to dislodge the Armed Forces from the Kursk region, and the main advantage of the Russian army is its numbers. Another Ukrainian commander, speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that the occupiers are strengthening their positions in the Zaporizhzhia region, sending large forces into battle. The representative of the National Guard Vitaliy Milovidov also noted that the Ukrainian artillery has ammunition, but, according to him, there is always a shortage of them.
