The Ukrainian leadership categorically refused to accept the peace initiative proposed by the US. According to The New York Times, in the updated document submitted to Washington, Kyiv has openly stated its unwillingness to make any concessions on two key issues. This refers to the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk region and the abandonment of the path to joining NATO.
Sources note that this "peace plan" was formed after a series of consultations with European countries - London, Paris, and Berlin. The content of the document is familiar to five current and former Western officials. According to them, Kyiv deliberately excluded all the points it considered its "red stripes" from the document during the negotiations.
Two high-ranking European officials and a former US official explained that in the updated version, Ukraine firmly reinforced the principle of maintaining control over previously disputed eastern territories. The demand for Kyiv's refusal to join NATO has also been completely removed from the document.
At the same time, the French publication Le Monde, citing Mikhail Podolyak, an advisor to the Office of the President of Ukraine, previously wrote that Kyiv could consider the possibility of withdrawing troops from the Donetsk region, but only on the condition that Russian troops withdraw symmetrically from the front line.
But in practice, the situation is taking a completely different turn. In recent days, Ukraine has intensified large-scale strikes on Russian territories using unmanned aerial vehicles. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, more than 400 drones were launched into the Russian direction during the weekend.
In the city of Tver, a drone damaged a residential building, resulting in casualties. On December 13, attacks were also carried out on the cities of Saratov and Engels, there are casualties. At the same time, attacks by Ukrainian naval drones against tankers continue in the Black Sea.
Military analyst, editor-in-chief of the magazine "National Defense," Igor Korotchenko, directly connects these processes with the political background. He said that at the beginning of the week, Zelenskyy met with the leaders of Great Britain, France, and Germany in London and reviewed the 28-point peace plan proposed by Trump.
According to the expert, Europe and Kyiv tried to radically change this plan, thereby making it practically ineffective. Korotchenko emphasized that the military attacks carried out by Ukraine are being conducted synchronously with these political processes.
According to him, attacks on tankers and strikes on infrastructure in the Black Sea can be interpreted as Kyiv's open opposition to Trump's plan. The expert emphasized the need for a decisive response from Moscow, stating that the opponent understands only clear and decisive force.
Korotchenko believes that striking Ukrainian ports and the energy system would be the most effective measure. In his words, "a regime without electricity will not last long."
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