#326: Putin Does Not Want Peace

Again, it is clear Russia does not want peace. Now, after yet another series of days, even weeks of talking about the possibility that Russia would want peace—after all these meetings with Witkoff, Rubio, the Russian side, even the Ukrainian side—it is clear: if you ever thought that Russia just wants peace with Ukraine, first mistake. They can stop the war at any point. It is their war of choice. They don’t want to stop. They don’t want to stop even at the conditions of that 28-point plan that has been created, probably with some Russian influence.

They’re still saying they want the whole of Donbass, which includes unconquered, undestroyed territory, and Ukrainians living there. And these cities have been fortified to prevent any troops just running to Kyiv. Ukraine cannot give this up. Russia knows this. This is why it’s on the list—because now they can say, “See, the Ukrainians are the evil ones.” No, they’re not.

Ukraine cannot in any way be made responsible for not wanting to give up their own territory, their own people. Troop reduction is another point that the Russians still moan about—not their own, but Ukrainians. But the Russians are the attackers, the Ukrainians defenders. If anybody’s troops deserve reduction, it would be Russia. Of course, I’m dreaming here.

And of course, the Russian side wants the recognition of conquest—everything they’ve stolen from Ukraine since 2014. Basically, this means a capitulation, which is—you know—it’s not surprising. Anybody who knows anything about Russia knows that this is about Ukraine as a democratic state of a people related to Russians culturally, historically. This threatens the dictatorial model that Putin is following. That’s all it is about.

Russia can stop the war anytime. Russia does not even want a ceasefire. See, if you say you want peace, you don’t keep attacking civilians, which Russia is doing. That is already proof enough.

At the same time, just before Putin’s people met with Rubio and Witkoff, he threatened war in Europe. Well, in his typically Putin reverse way: “Well, if Europe wants war, we are ready for it.” Europe doesn’t want war. This is the same nonsense as with NATO being a danger. NATO doesn’t want war with Russia, has never wanted war with Russia. NATO has just wanted to prevent war by Russia.

But in Putin’s logic, if you prepare for war against Russia because Russia might want to force it on you, then you’re the aggressor. So Putin saying that—another of his mind games.

But let’s look at what we’ve heard in several news sources. Putin did not even want the 28-point deal because it called for recognizing Ukrainian sovereignty. That is the very issue that is at the heart of the matter. Putin also says that even the attempt to have Ukraine be sovereign is a danger to him. And they make this about Zelenskyy: “If only Zelenskyy is gone, maybe there are more reasonable people.” Won’t happen.

Zelenskyy just again took on—because he had to—another corruption case, which does not mean that Ukraine is more corrupt than Russia. It means that Ukraine is actually fighting against corruption. Whenever you see that governments have to go against corruption scandals, it means the governments are actually confronting corruption, which makes the corruption visible. When you see governments not fighting corruption, you can assume there is corruption, because there is no such thing as a human being in this whole big structure that could not have been seduced to become corrupt.

Every human culture has a form of corruption. There are only two kinds of cultures: those who fight against it, like Ukraine now, or who tolerate it, like Russia, or thrive in it.

Even the attempt to want Ukraine to capitulate also shows that Putin does not understand how democracies work. Zelenskyy is the democratically elected leader of Ukraine. His term is prolonged because of the war. With 20% of the country occupied, huge numbers of people having fled, and the whole country under attack—how could there be an election? Doesn’t make any sense.

But the people support him, and he’s representing his people. But the people are the ones who are sovereign. They decide, and they cannot be forced to abandon their own people in the occupied territories, and they don’t want to. See, when we speak about losing territory, we are really speaking about either subjecting people to Russian rule or to uproot them and further destabilize not just Ukraine but the West, Europe—because where are those people supposed to go? There’s another strategy by Putin to go against Europe and Ukraine.

So now what? Putin has yet again embarrassed the United States. He has yet again abused Trump’s desire to make peace. He has also foiled any business plans that there might be. Don’t underestimate desires to make business with Russia once peace is there. It can, however, only work if there’s a democratic Russia. We’ve seen that business deals with a Putin regime don’t work because he’s just going to subvert them.

So Putin has stalled again because he is not winning. He also claimed Pokrovsk would be conquered, which it isn’t. Pokrovsk is used by the Ukrainians as a mouse trap. Basically, it’s a gruesome game that Ukraine is forced to play. But if you look at how many people the Russians are losing every day, this is no victory for Russia.

So in the meantime, Ukraine is fighting corruption and improving its democracy and improving hopefully its chances to get into the EU, and doing all these things at once. In the meantime, Russia’s economic crisis getting worse. Russian troops are not advancing as fast as people think they are. There’s a lot of suffering, and eventually Russia won’t even have the finances to hold the occupied territories.

Ukraine stands. Ukraine also stands for all of us. We need to stand with them, and Ukraine will win, and that should be the aim.

Ceterum censeo Ucrainam esse defendam. Слава Україні!