Putin Seeks to Negotiate, Ukraine Wants to Win the War

Article at El Diario de Hoy, published on 2 December 2022: https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/internacional/rusia-invasion-de-a-ucrania-testimonio-desde-vladimir-putin-zelenski-/1021240/2022/

More than nine months have passed since Russia launched its intense bombardment of Ukraine.

On that fateful February 24, hundreds of tanks and thousands of troops entered from Russia and Belarus, while an almost unstoppable barrage of artillery rained down on Ukrainian territory.

On paper, Ukraine’s fate seemed sealed. Its adversary launched the invasion backed by the world’s second-largest military, with over a million troops and another million reservists. In terms of weaponry, Vladimir Putin had at his disposal the world’s largest number of rocket launchers, more artillery than any other nation, and overwhelming superiority in tanks.

In contrast, Ukraine had only a fifth of the troops and significant equipment limitations. According to Global Fire Power (GFP), a platform that measures the military strength of 142 nations, Ukraine ranks far behind Russia at number 22.

With these calculations in hand, Putin believed the war would last only a few days—at least, that’s what Russia’s massive propaganda machine led its citizens to believe.

More than 275 days later, however, Russia has failed to defeat the opponent it once considered weak. Instead, this war has proven extremely costly in resources and troops. For a country supposedly as powerful as Russia, these past nine months have felt like a prolonged defeat.

Not only has Russia failed to secure a decisive victory, but it has also lost ground it had initially captured—especially in the key regions of Kharkiv and Kherson, two of the most strategic areas within Ukraine.

As December approaches, momentum belongs to Ukraine. Despite immense challenges, it continues to find the strength to resist and even go on the counteroffensive.

The Negotiation

On November 16, the Kyiv Independent reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Western nations had informed him of signs that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, was seeking to negotiate.

"I have received signals that Putin wants direct negotiations," Zelensky told a group of reporters in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.

His response to Putin was clear: since Russia chose to launch a public and open invasion, any negotiations must also take place publicly—not behind closed doors.

While both nations have attempted negotiations since the start of the invasion, Ukraine has maintained a key condition: Russian troops must withdraw before talks can begin. On November 16, Zelensky added another demand: negotiations could only take place if Putin was no longer in power.

Why Not Negotiate?

Although Ukraine currently has the upper hand, the war remains brutal, leaving behind death and destruction. With the harsh winter approaching, Russia continues to bomb critical energy infrastructure, causing blackouts and power cuts across Ukraine.

Russian artillery also continues to kill civilians, many of whom have no refuge from various types of weaponry, including cluster bombs and other munitions banned under international law.

Given this grim reality, the prospect of negotiating peace might seem appealing. But Kyiv refuses.

One reason is that Putin insists on private negotiations, with unreliable observers—such as Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, often referred to as “Europe’s last dictator”—who have shown alignment with Moscow.

Another reason is that any negotiation would essentially buy time for Putin, who has proven to be utterly untrustworthy.

In 2014, after a pro-Russian Ukrainian president was ousted, Putin promoted and financed an uprising in eastern Ukraine. To stop the fighting, agreements were signed granting some autonomy to these regions. But Russia went further, annexing Crimea, a strategic peninsula on the Black Sea. At the time, Putin claimed his territorial ambitions ended there.

Less than eight years later, using his control over Crimea and pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine as leverage, he launched the current invasion.

Believing Putin’s supposed peace overtures now could be a dangerous mistake.

Additionally, Ukraine is unwilling to concede the territories Russia currently occupies. Doing so would only encourage Moscow to retreat, regroup, and later resume its imperialist ambitions—once again breaking any promises of peace.

Before the current invasion, Putin himself had promised there would be no war. He did not keep his word, and now he offers Ukraine the same empty assurances in exchange for negotiations.

Aiming for Victory, Not Just a Stalemate

In a recent conversation with El Diario de Hoy, Mykhailo Lavrovski said that Ukraine has learned over the past months that it must not only resist but actually strive to win the war.

This young activist, who has supported Ukraine’s resistance and mobilized aid for troops and medical brigades, explained how the recapture of Kharkiv and Kherson has put his country in a position where negotiation is no longer an option.

He also warned that trusting Putin would be like believing someone who has repeatedly betrayed them. According to Lavrovski, Putin will only use negotiations to buy time, rebuild his military, and eventually try again to erase Ukraine’s independence.

For Lavrovski and many others, this war is not just about territorial disputes—it is about the very survival of their nation. And that, he said, is not something they are willing to sacrifice.

Meanwhile, as Russia becomes increasingly isolated, Ukraine continues to enjoy overwhelming Western support.

On Tuesday, November 29, in Bucharest, Romania, NATO reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Ukraine and even stated that it expects to welcome the country into its alliance in the near future.

Although Ukraine currently has momentum, this war is expected to be long and grueling.

Russia has suffered setbacks but remains far from defeated. Putin has ordered mass conscription, and while thousands of Russians have fled to avoid being drafted, many others have enlisted to fight in a war they have been led to believe is a mission of liberation.

It seems much blood will be spilled before Ukrainians can once again enjoy peace and stability. However, as Lavrovski told El Diario de Hoy, “For Ukrainians, it is better to die fighting than to live in slavery.”