Summary
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia must withdraw to its pre-invasion positions from February 24, 2022.
In an interview with Newsmax, he hoped that Donald Trump, with European backing, could end the war and influence Putin.
Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine will not accept any negotiated settlement that excludes its involvement.
He also suggested that Trump needs a diplomatic success to differentiate his approach from Biden’s. However, there is no indication that Russia is willing to retreat.
For someone that demanded the 2014 borders for the past few years, this is a concession. Odds are that Putin wants all of Ukraine even if Russia has to stop where they are for a few years and repeat the 2014 playbook. It’s very surprising Russia hasn’t been able to push past the current positions. However, they are close to taking certain important cities and the highways.
Another possibility is if Ukraine has elections and chooses another pro Russian president. Then you would have the largest army in Europe equipped with Western weapons potentially switch sides and on to other former USSR states.
That doesn’t make any sense. Russia knows it can’t control Ukrainian-majority areas in any meaningful way. This war isn’t a war of annexation and expansionism, it’s a proxy war between Russia and the US in which Russia is showing its neighbouring countries that it won’t simply allow its influence sphere to disintegrate.