““Now is not the time to reduce pressure on Russia. On the contrary, it is time to strengthen it in order to convince them to sit down at the negotiating table and agree on a just peace.””, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“Wars are by their nature unpredictable. So I’m very cautious about predicting exactly what will happen in 2025. But ending this war this year is quite possible,” Stoltenberg said during the panel discussion “Peaceful formula for Ukraine”, where he discussed this topic with the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak.
Stoltenberg noted that Russia is paying an extremely high price for its aggression: it is losing about 1,000 troops every day, has a 21 percent discount rate, 10 percent inflation, and an acute labor shortage due to mass exodus and casualties at the front.
“Now is not the time to reduce pressure on Russia. On the contrary, it is time to strengthen it in order to convince them to sit down at the negotiating table and agree on a just peace,” he emphasized.
At the same time, he warned against attempts to quickly end the war at the price of concessions from Ukraine: “The fastest way to end the war is to lose it. But this will not bring peace, it will bring the occupation of Ukraine.”
The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, confirmed his readiness to work with the new US administration on a just peace, but stressed that Ukraine will not compromise on its independence and territorial integrity.
On January 16, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi also said that there is a chance to end the war in 2025, as the US president-elect can pressure Russia on this issue.
“Yes, there is. Trump really wants to end the war, these are his messages, they are both public and non-public, to be honest. He is a leader capable of putting pressure on Russia. I am sure that Russia is afraid of America and China, and is afraid of a united Europe,” said the leader of Ukraine.
On January 22, The Wall Street Journal wrote that Keith Kellogg, appointed by US President Donald Trump as the special representative for Ukraine, has a plan to end the war in Ukraine, but Trump will personally control the negotiations. According to the media, Trump instructed Kellogg to end the war in Ukraine in one hundred days.
Many analysts say it will be difficult to end the war anytime soon because Putin believes he is winning and has no incentive to stop fighting, even if Russia suffers devastating losses in men and equipment.