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Russian President Vladimir Putin may have been backed into a corner by recent diplomatic attempts to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine – but it’s not all good news for Volodymyr Zelensky
Vladimir Putin dons military uniform as he visits Kursk
Even if Russia does sign a peace deal with Ukraine, Vladimir Putin will still be determined to kill Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky who will remain “at very great personal risk”, an expert has warned.
Donald Trump may play a leading role in brokering any lasting ceasefire between the Kremlin and Kyiv in a bid to enhance his legendary reputation as a deal-maker, but it remains to be seen whether or nor Vladimir Putin will play ball and honour any sort of agreement for any considerable length of time.
The Russian despot was seen in military fatigues at a Kursk region command post this week in a rare military appearance suggesting his desire to continue hostilities – a matter of hours after Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is ready to seek peace. Putin vowed to treat hundreds of Ukrainian troops captured in Kursk region as “terrorists”, potentially jailing them for decades, and not as prisoners of war who can be exchanged.
On Thursday, a Kremlin official seemed to suggest there was no hope for a 30-day ceasefire on their side, as it wasn’t something the Russian President was interested in.
And now, concerns have been raised that even if Russia did sign some form of formal peace deal, dark arts might be employed behind the scenes that would see Russia continue its aggression towards Ukraine. Zelensky himself has been very vocal about the “red lines” on any peace deal that his country would commit to.
Zelensky’s stance in recent years has made him a prime target for ex-KGB killer, a state of affairs that will continue even after any deal is done.. Professor Antony Glees, Emeritus Professor of Politics, Economics and International Studies at the University of Buckingham told The Mirror “Zelensky will be at very great personal risk. The Russians have him in their crosshairs. “
Russia launched a ‘full scale invasion’ of the country on February 24 2022, sparking an international crisis and threatening to capture Kyiv in the opening days of the war before Ukraine, with strong backing from European allies and the US under Joe Biden, mounted a counter offensive and eventually claimed Russian territory around Kursk.
Since Donald Trump’s re-election to the White House last year, US support for Ukraine has faltered as Trump – who promised on the campaign trail he could bring an end to the war in 24 hours once he was in power – has adopted a much more appeasing tone with Putin and the Kremlin.
In recent days, with EU nations alongside the UK also working to bring about a diplomatic solution hopes have begun to rise that an end to the conflict might be in sight. Whether or not such a turn of events would be a good thing for European stability in the long run remains to be seen.
Professor Glees went on :”Any deal that is done that Putin accepts will not be worth the paper it’s written on. However, in the short and medium term it will stop the slaughter.
“The best hope if Putin says ‘no’ – which I think is unlikely as it’s very high risk for him – is that Trump feels personally affronted and agrees to let Ukraine fight to win, giving Ukraine the tools to finish the job, rather than, as Sir Alex Younger put it so well, just enough not to lose at once but not to win at any stage.
“If Trump does this, the UK and our European Allies will back Ukraine to the hilt, I’ve no doubt. Putin will be consigned to the trashcan of history, which is where he rightfully belongs. There is one way to end the war on terms that are good for Ukraine and for Europe as a whole and that is to win it.”
However, Prof Glees believes Russian dictator Vlad will eventually be backed into a corner to such a degree that he is left with no option but to agree to a peace deal. This might be good news for Donald Trump, who might even blag his way to a Nobel Peace Prize off the back of it, but it will categorically not be good news for Ukrainian war hero leader Zelensky.”
Prof Glees said: “I suspect Putin will say ‘yes’, that Trump will be packing his bags for Oslo and the Nobel Peace Prize and there will be a couple of years of peace – whilst Russian subversion gets up to speed.
“Meanwhile, I continue to believe that Zelensky will be at very great personal risk. The Russians have him in their crosshairs. “