On the 18th (local time), Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a meeting held at the Kremlin. [Reuters]
[Herald Economy = Kim Bit-na] The ceasefire on Ukraine’s energy sector, agreed upon by the United States and Russia on the 18th (local time), is largely seen as being favorable to Russia. It is evaluated that Russia’s delaying tactics, advantageous in the Ukrainian war, have succeeded.
According to foreign media, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone call lasting more than an hour and a half, resulting in an agreement on a ceasefire in the energy and infrastructure sectors.
The White House self-assessed this partial ceasefire as ‘the beginning of a move toward peace.’
The targets of the ceasefire as per the agreement are those with relatively less incentive for Russian concentrated attacks.
Furthermore, Russia is currently putting significant effort toward reclaiming the Kursk region, which was abruptly occupied by Ukraine last year. Kursk is mentioned as Ukraine’s major bargaining chip when peace negotiations begin, but Russia is on the verge of a complete recapture.
Russia is also focusing on maintaining or expanding the Ukrainian territories it has occupied in the eastern region.
This area might solidify as the border between the two countries once peace negotiations are completed.
Currently, Russia is attempting to solidify its dominance in Kursk and occupied territories in the eastern front, which account for 20% of Ukrainian territory, along with the Crimean Peninsula. In this context, the partial ceasefire limited to energy infrastructure is evaluated to carry mostly symbolic significance unrelated to the current war situation.
Initially, President Putin reiterated his stance against allowing Ukraine time to reorganize its position before speaking with President Trump.
Ultimately, things went as President Putin wished.
The cause of further anguish for Ukraine is the expectation that a comprehensive ceasefire agreement might be effectively impossible in future negotiations.
In the agreement with President Trump, President Putin reiterated the uncompromising preconditions he had laid out for a comprehensive ceasefire.
He set the complete cessation of foreign military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine as the core conditions for resolving the conflict.
This is a condition that Ukraine and Europe, concerned about the possibility of a Russian reinvasion after the war, cannot accept.
As details of the talks emerged, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately expressed his displeasure. President Zelensky stated, “Today, Putin effectively rejected the proposal for a comprehensive ceasefire,” and “the world must reject Putin’s attempt to drag on the war.”