A military expert in Russia has claimed there will be no peace in Ukraine as the US attempts to broker a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. Donald Trump welcomed the Ukrainian President and European leaders to the White House on Monday for talks on ending the war, prompting an angry reaction in the Russian media, with one newspaper claiming a “powerful political bomb” has been planted against Moscow.
Moskovsky Komsomolets reported “much of what was discussed” in Washington was “unacceptable” to Russia, in reference to security guarantees for Ukraine. The Moscow-based newspaper claimed Mr Zelensky and the European leaders, which included Sir Keir Starmer, “managed to pour sugar into the gas tank of the successful negotiation process,” which had begun at the US-Russia summit in Alaska days earlier. While claiming this is not “final and irreversible”, it said this represents “the most convincing interpretation” of what happened during the talks.
A military expert reportedly went one further, warning peace will not happen, according to the BBC’s Russia editor Steven Rosenberg in his round-up of Russia’s papers reacting to the meeting.
The expert is quoted in Moskovsky Komsomolets as saying he believes there will be no “peacemaking”.
He told the newspaper: “The summit in Alaska and the meeting in Washington are a tactical pause.
“When the West talks about ‘supporting Ukraine’ without deploying NATO troops or lifting restrictions on Kyiv striking deep into Russia, this is a sign of weakness.
“This means that Moscow still has time and room for manoeuvre.”
The expert, who was not named in Rosenberg’s report, added: “Russia still holds the initiative and Ukraine continues to lose territory, while waiting for help that will never come.
“Russia still has every chance to end this war on its terms.”
Moskovsky Komsomolets’ also claimed the Europeans “sweet-talked” the American President into “seeing their side”.
“Trump was persuaded to drive a wedge between himself and Putin,” it added.
It described the results of the meeting as “ambiguous”, warning the “political duel between Putin and the West is entering the endgame”.
The daily newspaper has been described as pro-Kremlin.
The US said Mr Putin had agreed America and its European allies could offer Ukraine a security guarantee, akin to NATO’s collective defence Article 5, as part of an eventual peace deal.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday said Mr Putin has promised to meet Mr Zelensky, with work ongoing to “make this happen”.
However, Moskovsky Komsomolets cast doubt over this and suggested the Russian president could send someone else.
It said a summit between the two only makes sense if “the White House meeting really managed to advance the agenda agreed upon in Alaska by the presidents of Russia and America”.
Russia launched 93 drones and two ballistic missiles against Ukraine overnight, Kyiv’s air force said.