“They must give us the land they occupy… or we will take it away from them”

In a public appearance from the Kremlin, Putin valued the United States peace plan as “a basis from which to polish certain aspects”and declined to comment on the scandal of Steve Witkoff’s conversations with Russian negotiator Yuri Ushakov.

These conversations, published on Tuesday by the Bloomberg portal, make clear the Witkoff’s tremendous interest in Russia getting its way in this conflict, something that, on the other hand, should not take anyone by surprise.

Witkoff, of Russian origin, was not even originally appointed to mediate in the Ukraine war, but instead debuted in the Trump Administration as an envoy to the Middle East, where he got his first success: the announcement of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel on January 18, 2025, two days before the inauguration of the new American president.

His role came as a consequence of Kremlin veto of General Keith Kellogg and his fantastic relations with Putin and his entourage.

Los Witkoff’s advice Ushakov has not only beenindignation in Ukraine, but in certain sectors of the Republican Partywhere there are still many congressmen opposed to submission to Russia.

For example, the former military Donald Baconcurrent member of the House of Representatives, wrote a forceful post in X: “What would a Russian spy in the Kremlin’s pay do that he hasn’t done?”. We must not forget that, in fact, in one of the first meetings with Putin, last May, the Kremlin already “snuck in” a spy as an interpreter.

More than a million Russians injured or killed

In any case, the fault is not Witkoff, who is still a real estate businessman without any diplomatic experience, but rather the one who insists on putting him there.

After learning of the leaks, Donald Trump did not want to put a single “but” to the actions of his special envoy; On the contrary, he assured that he will be in Moscow next week to meet, once again, with Putin.

The meeting with Zelensky will be led by Dan Driscoll, Secretary of the US Army, and personal friend of Vice President JD Vance.

Los Putin’s terms for “peace” were clear in his appearance: Ukraine must withdraw from the territories it currently occupies. Although he did not specify, it must be understood that Putin is referring to those located in Donetsk, fortifications on which the security of Eastern Ukraine depends. The Sloviansk-Kramatorsk core is not much closer for the Russians now than it was four years ago. It is inconceivable that kyiv agrees to surrender those places just because.

However, Putin is convinced that Ukrainian will will not be needed to achieve his goal. That is why he is in no hurry to reach any agreement.

Pese a having lost more than a hundred thousand men killed and wounded in the last year alone -it is estimated that in total there are already more than a million, according to estimates by the British Ministry of Defense-, the autocrat He remains determined that his army will ultimately prevail…perhaps because his subordinates are not giving him real information about what is happening on the ground.

Kupiansk, as an example of Russian slowness

This lack of information, probably to please the leader, a very Soviet vice, led Putin to categorically assure that, If Ukraine did not surrender those lands, “they would be taken away by force”.

Son, almost exactly the words Donald Trump used on FOX News to defend the concessions that he demanded from Ukraine in his first peace plan. The difference is that, if Putin is convinced that he is going to achieve his goal, even that he can go further, why is he going to give up anything in return?

Now, the reality is far from what the Russian leader paints it. Their men have managed to advance 1% of Ukrainian territory in 2025. In total, including Crimea, it would be 19% of the neighboring country… although approximately 88% of Donbas, a territory of which it already controlled slightly less than half before February 2022.

In other words, progress is slow. Very slow, at times. And, yes, there could be a collapse of the Ukrainian defenses, but Russian propaganda has been dreaming of that collapse for four years and it never comes, just as the protests of frozen citizens demanding surrender at any price never come.

Ukraine resists and resists reasonably well. In fact, as the war progresses and defensive constructions become more solid, advances will become more sporadic and at an incalculable cost of lives. Putin gave as an example of the effectiveness of his army the capture of the city of Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv oblast, but it is difficult to understand that conquest as a success: Russia has taken a year since crossing the Oskil River to gain less than complete control of the city.

¿And vevo Bakmut?

It’s not that taking Kupanskwhich is not yet complete despite the Kremlin’s insistence, is a minor issue, but the truth is that Ukraine has had time throughout this year to evacuate all civilians and prepare new defense positions to prevent the Russian advance towards the aforementioned Sloviansk and Kramatorsk to the south and the capital of Kharkiv to the north.

Throughout these four years, Kupiansk has suffered constant evictions that seemed to anticipate a conquest that did not come.

Its history, like that of Bakhmut, Andriivka or Pokrovsk – also still incomplete – is actually a summary of all the incapacities of the invading army: slow and predictable advances, constant but with an immense price in lives and weapons, and of little strategic depth, since what is found is a pile of smoking ruins while the enemy continues waiting a few kilometers ahead.

So that If Russia could see a light at the end of the military road, something different would be needed. Something unexpected that called into question the Ukrainian capacity for resistance. Something similar to what happened, in reverse, in Kharkiv and then in Kherson in the summer and autumn of 2022. An imbalance of forces that, at the moment, is nowhere to be seen and that would be difficult to see even if the United States turned off the tap on the sale of arms, something it is not going to do because it is still a huge business from which it benefits.

The importance of sanctions

Putin may not be aware of this, but those around him should be. That’s why, They are satisfied that the Witkoffs on duty manage to divide the West with their proposals and, thus, they can save time.

It will be necessary to see if Russia’s land advances or the sanctions against the sale of oil that have been imposed by the same Administration that hurts everything else end up hurting more.

Biden was convinced that, if cornered, Putin would opt for the nuclear route. Trump understands that economic strangulation will bring the Russians to the negotiating table. Who doesn’t seem to care about anything is Ukraine… and it is precisely Ukraine that has put the dead in defense of the West for almost four years. Some respect, at least, has been earned.