Can Russia and Ukraine Agree to End the War?
The current Russian and Ukrainian war has been occurring since February 24th, 2022, according to the UK Parliament, when Russia invaded Ukraine and entered the country from Belarus, Russia, and Crimea. Even before the war started, there were eight years of conflict happening in eastern Ukraine between the Ukrainian government and Russian separatists.
Fast forward to now, the Russian- Ukrainian war has been going on for more than three years, and there have been over 100,000 combined casualties on both sides. With this, Zylensky was pressured not only by Russia to make a peace deal but also by the United States.
The United States has given Ukraine 66.5 billion dollars for military support and 122.8 billion dollars total since February 24th, 2022. With the recent press conference between Trump and Zelensky, Trump threatened to cut monetary support to Ukraine. This further pushed Zelenskyy to sign a peace deal because it would be difficult for Ukraine to win the war without support from the United States. As said by C-Span Trump told Zelensky at the press conference, “You’re either going to make a deal, or we’re out.” But Zelensky believes that if they make a deal, Russian influence will spread. According to the PBS article, “What Trump and Zelenskyy said during their heated argument in the Oval Office, " by Adriana Gomez Lincon, Zelensky tells Trump, “You will feel influenced”. Trump responds to Zelensky, saying, “We are going to feel very good, very strong.”
Some people believe that Zelensky does not want to end the war because he wants to stay president of Ukraine. This is because Zelensky has outlasted his term since May 2024. Since Ukraine is in a war, martial law is in play, which prevented the regularly-scheduled presidential election from being conducted.
Since Trump does not trust Zelensky’s motives, Trump set up a discussion between himself and Putin, not including Zelensky, about implementing a 30-day ceasefire. According to a New York Times article, even though Ukraine was willing to start the 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States, Putin declined the truce. Putin did agree to a 30-day ceasefire between energy infrastructures. This is good progress toward peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Not even 24 hours after the ceasefire deal, Russia sent a series of kamikaze drone strikes and S-300 surface-to-air missiles at civilian areas and a hospital. With this, Russia already broke their ceasefire deal by attacking an energy facility. This is because Russia and Ukraine can’t agree on what energy infrastructures are considered. Zelensky believes hospitals, ports, and railways count as energy infrastructures, but Putin does not think these energy infrustruces count as part of the cease fire. Harborfields attendee William Roof believes that hospitality, ports, and railways are considered energy infrastructures .
In conclusion, Russia and Ukraine are trying to take steps towards peace. With ongoing negotiations for a 30-day ceasefire, it’s becoming more likely. However, Zelensky and Putin can never agree on what they both want, either what energy infrastructures are considered, how much territory Russia will receive if they end the war, or what Russia will receive if they accept the black sea deal.