Photo: EPA
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin shows no sign of abandoning his imperial ambitions, and recent peace talks have deepened divisions between Europe and Washington, writes The Times. Weeks of diplomacy, revised peace plans, and a visit by representatives of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to the Kremlin have failed to bring the war in Ukraine closer to an end. When Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, departed Moscow on the morning of Wednesday, December 3, it became clear that Washington had once again overestimated Putin’s willingness to abandon his goal of fully subjugating Ukraine.
With no further negotiations scheduled, the war is likely to continue until the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February. In practice, the only tangible outcome of the latest U.S. peace initiative has been a widening rift between Europe and Washington — a result Moscow is likely to welcome.
“Putin signals that he is offering Ukraine and the West a choice not between different peace options, but between achieving the objectives of the special military operation by force, or supplementing military action with negotiations, which would result in fewer casualties,” wrote Russian political analyst Alexander Baunov on social media. He added that Putin remains personally involved in the war, regularly donning military uniform to issue orders — a level of engagement absent when Russian operations were less successful.
Last month, after talks in Florida between Witkoff and Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev produced a 28-point peace plan, Kyiv and European allies feared Washington was pushing Ukraine toward an agreement that would require ceding some non-occupied territory, forgoing NATO membership, and allowing Moscow to impose restrictions on the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Diplomatic efforts involving British, French, and German officials revised the plan to make it more acceptable to Kyiv. However, any deal acceptable to Ukraine would be automatically rejected by Russia, as demonstrated on December 2 in Moscow.
“The contradiction between Ukraine’s goal to survive as a sovereign democracy and Russia’s imperial ambitions cannot be resolved. The only factor that could change this is the economic or military collapse of one side,” said Michael Carpenter, former U.S. National Security Council senior director for Europe.
Despite unprecedented military losses and mounting economic challenges, Putin remains confident that Russia still has the financial, human, and psychological resources to continue the fight, wrote Russian commentator Andrei Kolesnikov. From the Kremlin’s perspective, the nation’s capacity to adapt is virtually limitless: citizens will endure hardship and higher taxes to achieve the objectives of the special military operation, and will continue to survive under prolonged hybrid conflict with the West.
While Putin acknowledged that the initial U.S.-supported proposal could serve as the basis for a ceasefire, he expressed frustration with European leaders for helping to revise the peace plan. “We are not planning to go to war with Europe. But if Europe wants to and initiates it, we are ready now,” he said. He also reiterated veiled nuclear threats, warning that a European attack could quickly create a situation in which there would be no one to negotiate with.
With little hope for peace, Trump now faces a choice: abandon negotiations or apply greater pressure on Kyiv or Moscow. Although he sanctioned Russia’s two largest oil companies in October, he declined to provide Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles capable of striking Moscow.
“Putin’s fear of Trump and the United States has nearly vanished. Russia’s main and only bet is on Western softness and indecision. They now see that all of Trump’s grand statements are as hollow as President Macron’s posturing,” said journalist and former Russian MP Alexander Nevzorov.
