Ukrainian power plants belong to the people of our country. Meanwhile, the war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified amid the proposed ceasefire efforts. Russia released 200 Iranian Shahid drones. In response, Ukraine launched a drone attack on an English airbase located 700 kilometers inside Russia where nuclear-capable Tu-160 warplanes were stationed.
During this, Russia and Ukraine exchanged 175 prisoners each. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the release of prisoners of war and civilians is an important step towards peace. US President Donald Trump had promised and claimed to end the war in 24 hours during his election campaign.
Now Trump is saying in a TV interview that he was just a ‘jumla’. On March 18, US President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone for more than an hour. The White House was pressuring Russia to sign a 30-day ceasefire proposal with Ukraine aimed at ending the three-year war. The White House and the Kremlin did not immediately provide details about the nature of the talks, but both sides confirmed that the talks had concluded. Trump had said before the call that he hoped to discuss with Putin the areas and power plants in Ukraine that have been occupied during the three-year war.
On the other hand, Ukrainian President Zelensky has doubts about Putin’s readiness for peace because the Russian military is constantly bombing Ukraine. Last week, Ukrainian officials agreed to the US ceasefire proposal during talks led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Saudi city of Jeddah. The US and Russian presidents exchanged airstrikes on each other just hours after a phone call on Tuesday, accusing each other of violating a new ceasefire agreement to stop attacks on power plants.
During the phone call with Trump, Putin rejected a proposal for a full ceasefire for 30 days but said he would only agree to a 30-day halt to attacks on Ukrainian power plants. The offer was quickly accepted by Ukrainian President Zelensky.
This raised hopes that the path to an end to the three-year-old Russia-Ukraine war could be cleared. That hope was dashed on Wednesday when Russia and Ukraine accused each other of drone attacks. Kiev blamed Moscow for 178 drone strikes, but Russia claimed that an oil refinery was set on fire during the attack and that Russian forces had seized large parts of the Kursk region. Putin’s decision to halt attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for 30 days is commendable, but will the move to reduce the conflict and move towards a lasting peace succeed in stopping the war? That is the big question.
It is clear that the situation is quite complicated because Russian President Vladimir Putin is setting conditions that only serve Moscow’s interests. Diplomacy will have to think beyond such a temporary ceasefire to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty and regional stability.
Russia has signaled by intensifying its attacks on Ukraine on the third anniversary of the war that it is not ready for a ceasefire agreement on Ukrainian terms. So, a positive outcome to this war is not in sight in the near future. There are many reasons why this war could drag on and become more terrible. Donald Trump is in a hurry to end this war and has even convinced Ukraine to do a lot to end the war, but his pressure on Ukraine is not as strong on Russia. The whole world witnessed this when Zelensky reached the White House to meet Trump and the two had a heated argument about the ceasefire.
At that time, Trump had scolded Zelensky a lot and even called him a stupid president and asked him to leave the White House without any food or drink. Despite the pressure of European countries, Zelensky later had to soften his stance and gave Trump the green light to move forward with the ceasefire.
On the other hand, Russia is adamant on its earlier conditions and has the upper hand in the war. Russia wants a stable peace. Russia is demanding that the US and its allies completely stop providing military and intelligence information to Ukraine. While Ukraine is demanding that Russian troops be withdrawn from all its territories and that Ukraine be given security guarantees from Russia. Meanwhile, the situation regarding Ukraine is becoming very serious. Apart from Russia, the US and Ukraine, Europe has emerged as a strong party. Amidst speculations of a ceasefire, France and Britain have announced the deployment of peacekeepers in Ukraine once the war stops. These peacekeepers will be from more than 25 countries.
Due to the lack of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, no one currently has a clear plan to consider the situation of both sides. Neither Russia nor Ukraine has appointed any special representative for peace talks.
This situation is even more difficult. These issues are very complex and sensitive. This will require consensus from both countries, but it will be very difficult as both countries are fighting a very violent war and they will have to make tough compromises. Russia and Ukraine should talk directly to make a complete plan for peace, only then will a solution be found.
It is believed that US President Donald Trump’s phone call with Russian President Putin will lead to a ceasefire.
It is the first step in the process and will yield better results.
But it will not be easy for the US to accept Russia’s conditions. How can it pressure other NATO member states to completely stop providing military aid and intelligence to Ukraine? This would be like surrendering to Russia. Even Trump would not want to do this. Much blood has been shed in this three-year-long and terrible war, much has been destroyed. This war should be stopped for the sake of humanity by implementing the proposed ceasefire with sincerity and seriousness.
