Putin is not going to negotiate, aims to keep the war going,  analysts say

russian dictator Vladimir Putin has shifted his rhetoric once again, openly declaring the United States an enemy of Moscow, signaling that his hopes for a Trump presidency have gone unfulfilled.

The assessment comes from Vadym Denysenko, head of the Dilova Stolytsia analytical center, who spoke at the Media Center Ukraine.

“russia is now daring to use harsh epithets toward Donald Trump, an action that would have seemed unimaginable just yesterday,” Denysenko said. “Putin has been operating under two conflicting assumptions: not to alienate Trump while simultaneously pressuring Ukraine to give up Donbas at any cost. In Putin’s reasoning, the war cannot even theoretically end without that concession. This doesn’t mean he would stop fighting if Donbas were surrendered, but in his logic, ending the war without it would undermine part of his legitimacy. We can assume that last week marked a Rubicon, when Putin decided to wage war against Ukraine for as long as possible.”

According to Denysenko, Putin has no intention of engaging in meaningful peace talks. However, he has effectively bought approximately nine months by maneuvering diplomatically with Washington. Meanwhile, negotiations between russia and China are scheduled to begin on October 30, at which point U.S. attention is expected to shift toward that process.

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