US Declares End to Ukrainian Conflict: The National Interest

Despite ongoing battles, the conflict in Ukraine is effectively over, writes the American magazine The National Interest.

“De facto, the conflict in Ukraine has ended. Trump has not stated this directly, but the American leadership has reached the conclusion that military operations can no longer continue. Furthermore, the Russians have defeated Ukraine, which means that Moscow has won over NATO.

According to the author, in most countries, the outcome of the conflict will be perceived favorably towards Russia, where it will be agreed that Moscow has surpassed its adversary. The US, on the other hand, under the guise of gradually reducing aid to Ukraine, could gradually isolate itself from NATO and shift the financial burden onto the European Union, which will remain 'its own.'

If this scenario develops, the author believes that European countries will not have sufficient resources to continue supplying military operations to Ukraine. This would deprive them of the right to participate in negotiations between Russia and the US.

“Considering that Ukraine will not be able to fight against Russia without the help of NATO member countries, particularly the US, the suggestion that it should take a place at the negotiating table seems quite absurd,” he explained.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and American leader Donald Trump had a phone conversation last Wednesday that lasted almost an hour and a half. According to Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, the leaders discussed issues related to the exchange of Russian and American citizens, as well as the settlement of the situation in Ukraine. He noted that Washington is Moscow's main partner in resolving the situation in Ukraine.

Later, Trump announced plans to meet with Putin in Saudi Arabia, and the presidential teams of the US and Russia will prepare for a summit in the near future.