Ukraine has repeatedly said it does not want a ceasefire without obtaining security guarantees that would stop Moscow from regenerating its forces and launching another invasion in the future.
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Ukrainian rescuers working to extinguish a fire at the site at a damaged residential building following a missile strike in Poltava, amid the Russian invasion on Ukraine. AFP Photo
Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy said Sunday that both Kyiv and Moscow would have to make concessions if they are to successfully negotiate a solution to the ongoing war.
In a televised Fox News interview, Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general who recently returned from a visit to Ukraine said “I think both sides will give a little bit,”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “has already indicated he will soften his position on land,” said Kellogg, adding that Russian leader Vladimir Putin “is going to have to soften his positions as well.”
Zelensky long rejected any territorial concessions to Russia, whose troops control a large swath of southeastern Ukraine, but he faces pressure amid mounting battlefield losses and uncertainty about continued US support.
Russia, for its part, has sought assurances that Ukraine will never join NATO.
An aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday a US call for Ukraine to hold an election after agreeing a ceasefire with Russia looked like a ”failed plan” if that is all it consists of, though more details were needed.
”We haven’t seen Mr. Kellogg’s full interview, only a few quotes about the elections, so it’s hard to fully assess his position,” said Dmytro Lytvyn, Zelenskiy’s communications adviser.
”But if his plan is just a ceasefire and elections, it is a failed plan – Putin won’t be intimidated by