After the events near Kursk, negotiations are off the table, and Putin is focused on revenge — NYT

Western media continue to analyze the consequences of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ attack on the Kursk region and ponder whether it brings the end of the war any closer. In their view, Vladimir Putin is now “focused not on peace, but on revenge.”

The New York Times released an article on this topic.

The publication notes that before the operation, Volodymyr Zelensky was sending multiple signals of readiness for negotiations: he personally spoke about the possibility of ending the war this year, sent the Foreign Minister to China, and held a series of international meetings “where he hoped to secure support for Ukraine’s positions and pave the way for a broader settlement.”

These initiatives sharply contrasted with the previous two years, during which Zelensky rejected any hint of concessions to Russia.

But the attack on the Kursk region “shattered predictions that the two countries might be moving toward a ceasefire.”

Now “Kyiv is making a risky bet that the invasion will give it new leverage to strike a favorable deal with the Kremlin.” However, two former Russian officials stated that the prospects for ceasefire negotiations have become more remote. One of them said that Putin is now focused “not on peace, but on revenge.”

Ukrainian officials told The New York Times that Zelensky’s aforementioned public statements, combined with the secret planning of the offensive in the Kursk region, “were two components of the same strategy.”

But “it is far from clear that a combination of military and diplomatic pressure will work with Putin, who has so far faced political and economic obstacles at home and has shown a willingness to bear significant costs to achieve victory over Ukraine,” the article states.

Russian politician Grigory Yavlinsky, who met with Putin in October last year to promote the idea of a ceasefire, said there was hope for an end to hostilities this year. But, according to him, that hope collapsed after the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region.

“The recent events have diminished all those chances; they have effectively removed them from the agenda,” Yavlinsky said.