Clearly something is going on in the background. Blinken, Mette Fredrinksen, Boris Johnson & Baerbock have visited Ukraine during the last week alone. Reading behind the lines, it seems that the West is working to convince Ukraine to accept some sort of frozen conflict in the likes of Korea. Which would meant Ukraine cedes territory but it's not recognised as Russian by the West. Kind of smart thought as it will give them time to get on with the US elections, increase ammunition production and even provide serious security guarantees (or even NATO membership) to Ukraine during "peace" time. But also this could take decades to resolve and this is the supposed carrot for Russians.
Remember mid-August statement of NATO's secretary chief of staff? "I think that a solution could be for Ukraine to give up territory, and get NATO membership in return"
Problem is nor Ukraine (check podcast Zelensky interview) or Russia seem to buy in that idea. Even worse, there are no evidence that Russia was even asked for this lately except from some unofficial secret talks between US -Russian policy makers before or at the start of the counter offensive. (see article)
Blinken: As to negotiations, it takes two to tango. And thus far, we see no indication that Vladimir Putin has any interest in meaningful diplomacy. If he does, I think the Ukrainians will be the first to engage, and we'll be right behind them. Everyone wants this war to end, but it has to end on just terms and on durable terms that reflect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Zelensky: I have this intuition, reading, hearing and seeing their eyes [when they say] ‘we’ll be always with you, but I see that he or she is not here, not with us.
Listen to Preparing for the long war: an interview with President Zelensky from The Intelligence from The Economist. As the counter-offensive continues, Ukrainian forces are running out of time to make substantial gains. Diplomatic attempts to isolate Russia have failed and progress on the front...
shows.acast.com
The aim of the discussions is to lay the groundwork for potential negotiations to end the war, people briefed on the talks told NBC News.
www.nbcnews.com
Steven Myers, State Department advisory panel member: "There is no effective counterstrategy available to the Ukrainians, The Ukrainians are in deep trouble." [...]
"They don’t talk about the counterstrikes by the Russians, who don’t care about gaining or holding ground in the kill zone and are experts at laying traps" [...]
"Europe is in more economic trouble than we are. Germany’s in deep recession. The Europeans are not going to shoulder more economic burden. They need an off-ramp."
A new defense minister, an encouraging visit from a U.S. official and more U.S. aid. Will they have an impact on the Ukraine war?
eu.usatoday.com