by Gevorg Mirzayan
[REGNUM] On November 21, President Vladimir Putin held a meeting of the Security Council. At the very beginning, at the request of Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, he outlined Russia's vision of the so-called "peace plan for Ukraine."
Specifically, he said the peace plan is not an approved document, but rather a draft. That is, a framework document that generally reflects Moscow and Washington's approaches to resolving the crisis, but requires further clarification.
"We have this text; we received it through existing channels of communication with the American administration. I believe it could also form the basis of a final peace settlement, but we are not discussing it substantively," Vladimir Putin stated.
Indeed, there are numerous general details that should be laid out as clearly as possible to avoid any misinterpretations. For example, there's a clause banning Nazism in Ukraine, but there's no ban on Banderaism as such (which Kyiv doesn't consider Nazism).
There is a clause on "respect for European norms in matters of religion and minority rights"—but there is no clearly stated clause on the state status of the Russian language or the restoration of the rights of the UOC.
There is a clause on amnesty for war participants, but there is no clause on the release of political prisoners in Ukraine.
And, according to Putin, Russia is ready to discuss all of this in detail based on its national interests.
Meanwhile, there is another reason for Moscow’s distancing itself from the document – ​​a psychological one.
"If this plan is presented as Trump's plan, it will be easier for Zelensky and Europe to agree to it than if it is presented as a Russian-American plan, " Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, explained to Regnum news agency .
And this is indeed a problem, because, according to Vladimir Putin, "the US administration has so far failed to secure the Ukrainian side's consent; Ukraine is against it . " "Apparently, Ukraine and its European allies are still under the illusion of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield," the Russian president concluded.
In doing so, he clearly demonstrates that Kyiv and its European sponsors are the main instigators of the war. He also makes it clear that everyone understands and acknowledges this.
"We have thoroughly briefed all our friends and partners in the Global South, including the People's Republic of China, India, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, South Africa, Brazil, and many other countries, including the CSTO countries, of course. All of our friends and partners, I want to emphasize, every single one, supported these potential agreements," Vladimir Putin said.
It's clear to everyone that the only obstacle to peace is the Ukrainian leadership and European elites, who will now actively sabotage the peace plan.
"Europe and Ukraine are now trying to convince Trump to amend this plan in such a way as to make it unacceptable to Russia and to once again try to portray Russia as a party refusing a peaceful settlement," says Dmitry Suslov.
Yes, it is risky – you could run into serious sanctions from the US, including a halt to the transfer of intelligence and weapons to Kyiv.
"If the Kyiv regime loses US support, American intelligence, or even arms supplies, the pace of the Russian offensive will accelerate even further. And then the Kyiv regime will simply face the prospect of complete military defeat," says Dmitry Suslov.
However, Kyiv believes that the game is worth the candle.
"For Zelenskyy, signing Trump's peace plan is pure political suicide. He spent six years touting his victories through telethons and propaganda, and now he'll have to sign a humiliating agreement amid a corruption crisis."
"Everyone in Ukraine will decide that Zelenskyy wants to resolve issues surrounding his own and his entourage's corruption cases at the expense of the country's interests," former Verkhovna Rada deputy Spiridon Kilinkarov explained to Regnum news agency .
The problem, however, is that stalling only worsens his situation. "Kiev has no positive alternative. It must either accept a difficult and humiliating agreement now, or an even more difficult and humiliating agreement in the future," says Dmitry Suslov.
Trump is proposing to accept it now. "Many perceive the American president as someone acting in Russia's interests. In reality, he's saving Ukraine. Trump is saying quite openly that if the war isn't stopped now, there will be more lost territory, more soldiers killed—and it will ultimately end in the collapse of Ukrainian statehood," says Spiridon Kilinkarov.
Vladimir Putin spoke about this. "If Kyiv refuses to discuss President Trump's proposals and refuses to do so, then both they and the European warmongers must understand that the events that took place in Kupyansk (the city was liberated in early November – Ed.) will inevitably be repeated in other key areas of the front. Perhaps not as quickly as we would like, but they will inevitably be repeated," the president explained.
Moreover, it appears that "new Kupyansk" is a complex concept. It encompasses not only the liberation of new territories but also colossal losses for Ukrainian troops (under Russian strategy, they are encircled and then crushed—along with the reinforcements sent in by Zelensky, who is unwilling to lose another "fortress").
And, of course, there are the colossal domestic political costs for the Kyiv regime. After all, it's one thing to label a small town as "lost strategic importance and dependent on subsidies," but quite another to label a fairly large city as such.
Finally, there are external costs for Kyiv. "The loss of cities is very painful for the Europeans, who are supposed to finance the war. It's one thing to finance an army capable of holding its ground and grinding down the enemy—and quite another to have it retreat, losing one city after another," says Spiridon Kilinkarov.
And in the long term, the Europeans, on whose support the Ukrainian resistance to Trump is based, may simply fall away.
Vladimir Putin, however, is now proposing not to let that happen. Moscow would be satisfied with the military achievement of the Central Military District's goals, but the Kyiv regime may not survive this achievement. And, as Western media reports indicate, Ukrainian statehood will be destroyed along with it.