A ceasefire between Ukraine and russia does not look realistic right now – military expert
Discussions of a possible “ceasefire on the front or in the air” against the backdrop of contacts between vladimir putin and Donald Trump have no direct relation to ending the fighting between Ukraine and russia, since the decision must be made by the parties to the war. Pavlo Lakiichuk, head of security programs at the Center for Global Studies “Strategy XXI” and retired captain first rank of the Ukrainian Navy, told this to OstroV.
According to the expert, the current discussion about an “air ceasefire” is, for russia, more of a tactical matter and boils down to attempts to reduce the strikes that are most painful for them.
“Russia is interested where it hurts. Remember the russian memorandum when they demanded, before the next round of talks with Ukraine, that proposals be submitted. The key point then was — to stop strikes on russian oil refining facilities. In other words, they are ready to propose stopping or reducing strikes where it is most painful for them, but certainly not where they are succeeding”, - Pavlo Lakiichuk noted.
The expert also stressed that talk of a “ceasefire” in the format of negotiations between putin and Trump does not correspond to the real logic of ending hostilities: a ceasefire is only possible between Ukraine and russia, not as a result of conversations between third-party leaders.
“I personally do not expect anything from this meeting”, - he added.