The next few months will likely be critical for Ukraine’s future. Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting the United States to try to secure crucial security guarantees that will allow him to enter any future peace negotiations with Russia in a strong position. In a press briefing on Friday, September 20, the head of state acknowledged that he hopes to convince outgoing President Joe Biden to act before he leaves the White House, as the policy of supporting kyiv’s most powerful ally could be upended by the results of the November presidential election.
These preparations for peace negotiations are taking place at a critical time for the country, as international support from its allies remains insufficient to change the course of the war and the exhausted population is increasingly showing signs of weakness in its resilience. The Ukrainian offensive on Kursk, presented by the Kiev authorities as another lever of pressure on the Kremlin, has not changed the dynamics of the fighting in the east of the country. Russian forces continue to advance against a Ukrainian army suffering from a lack of men and ammunition, seizing new hamlets in the Donbass every day.
The winter is expected to be difficult for the entire territory, as more than half of its electricity production capacity has been destroyed in Russian strikes. The population fears a winter in the cold marked by major power cuts.
Polls conducted in recent months have already shown an increase in the number of people saying they are open to the prospect of negotiations. “People are in a difficult psycho-emotional state, the war is long, it takes all the strength and emotions”analyzed the presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, during an interview, at the beginning of August. “Ukrainian society suffers many losses”observe Anton Hrushetskyi, Executive Director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS). “It is psychologically exhausting for Ukrainians.”
“Protecting certain national interests”
Thus, according to the results of a survey conducted by KIIS in May for the National Democratic Institute, an American think tank, the share of those who would be open to negotiations would have increased from 33% in May 2023 to 57% a year later. Anton Hrushetskyi also notes an increase in the number of people saying that they are “generally ready to make territorial concessions” to stop the war.
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Source: Lemonde
