Experts predict that Putin will not accept the Ukrainian ceasefire contract
Rebekah Koffler, author of Putin's Playbook, joined Fox & Friends First to discuss why Putin's approval “as a rule” of a ceasefire is not authentic and leaked documents could be revealed about Putin's long-term plan in Ukraine.
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President Trump's special envoy, Steve Witfov, visited Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Trump's proposed ceasefire in Ukraine on Thursday. The White House has yet to comment on the meeting, but Russian media reported that it took place late Thursday, and that Putin had “sends” to Trump via Witkov.
At a press conference on Thursday, Putin thanked Trump for his efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine, saying that he was “for ideas” but “nuanced.” In a 7-minute 30-second speech, the Russian Strongman outlined a list of issues related to closing the 30-day ceasefire, including difficulties in verifying potential violations. Before Putin's speech, president-sponsored Yuri Ushakov, who spoke on Russian national television, had ruled out a temporary ceasefire and called it “a few steps that mimicked peaceful activities.” Putin has shown he wants to call President Trump.
Zelenskyy accused Putin of being “very manipulative” and accused Putin of “actually preparing to reject it.” At the end of last month, Trump declared that the peace deal was “very far away,” calling it a “worst statement,” and saying, “America won't hold it in for much longer!”
Trump's War Art: Win without Fighting
Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak at a joint press conference with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko following a meeting at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
But Zelenskyy is correct. Peace in Ukraine is a long way. Putin is very unlikely to accept President Trump's current peace plan. This is why.
Famous for his tireless work ethic, Trump demands that his staff get things done at record speeds or in “the Trump era.”
It is understandable that Trump wants to maintain his campaign promise and stop the bloodshed of Eurasian land immediately.
Vladimir Putin, left, and Voldimir Zelensky, right (Reuters/AP)
But with respect for President Trump and his achievements, the situation for the Russian Ukraine is extremely complicated. Russia has a strategic culture that is very different from Western culture. And Putin is a completely different animal to the people Trump previously dealt with. The relationship between Russian thought and its time is typical with the famous proverb, “The more you go slowly, the more you will get.”
First of all, as Trump said, rightly, at a press conference, Putin “has all the cards.” And Vladmir Putin is not in a hurry. He wants to end the war, but if he accepts it to the United States only on his terms, he will humiliate Washington.
On March 6, Putin publicly ruled out concessions to Ukraine. “We don't need anything that belongs to others, but we won't give up on ours,” he said in a speech broadcast on Russian national television.
Putin believes he can call the shot. Despite the losses of the merciless Russia (and the Ukrainians), Russia can drag this war out for years. Certainly, President Putin has developed a strategy quarter of a century ago after he became president. He moved his army and economy to wartime scaffolding and sanctions-prevention Russia seven years before the Ukrainian invasion in February 2022. That's why Russians largely rejected the threat of Trump's “massive” sanctions. “To speak to Russia from the status of strength and to threaten sanctions is not the way to wherever it goes,” said a representative of Duma, the province of Yuri Nesterenko, in the Crimean region.
Additional sanctions are very unlikely to alter Putin's decision calculations. Despite the fact that Washington has been trying to suffocate Moscow for a decade, they have never been. The severity of US sanctions on Russia has raised the scope of Hitler's sanctions imposed on Germany during World War II. Russians believe there is nothing Trump can do to put Biden's sanctions on top.
Internal Putin's Thoughts: Team Trump can expect from Moscow when negotiating options regarding the Russian-Ukraine War
In this photo, provided by the Ukrainian National Police, firefighters work to wipe out the fire after a Russian attack on the apartment area of Woman's Town (125 miles) in Kirif (125 miles) in Ukraine on Friday, April 28, 2023. (Ukrainian National Police via AP)
To neutralize the effects of future US sanctions, President Putin launched an import facility program to rule out Russia's foreign exchange reserves, strengthen the sovereign wealth fund to an all-time high, encourage imported goods, and minimize Russian reliance on imports. Moscow also launched a Shadow Tanker Fleet to continue exporting oil.
Secondly, Ushakov's rejection of Trump's proposal for a temporary ceasefire is not surprising. Putin has repeatedly shown that temporary breaks in the battle were out of the question. He doesn't want to give Ukraine, Europe, or the US a strategic suspension. Speaking at the Foreign Ministry in June, President Putin said temporary peace was “no use for Moscow” as the enemy used the freeze in conflict to fill Ukraine's combat losses and armed deficits.
In fact, according to NATO Executive Director Mark Latte, Russia, which is in a wartime position, produces more weapons in three months in a year than the entire NATO Alliance. Putin also increased Russian troops than the constitutional allowance to allow Russia to fight even the last Ukrainians.
In April 2022, a pro-Russian convoy will move along the road in Mariupol, Ukraine. (Reuters/Genghis Kondalov)
Ukraine is in short supply, promoting Putin to continue what he began, overtaking, protesting, and protesting those who lack proper war fighting capabilities to promote Putin to continue what he began.
Third, there is a set of legal obstacles that Moscow and Kiev must resolve before signing the contract. Neither shows any indication of willingness to resolve them. Even if they agree to do so, it will take time. Ukraine and Russia do not happen during the Trump era.
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Putin excluded negotiations with Zelensky and told the state Rossia 1 TV, “He's [Zelenskyy] They have no right to sign anything illegal “he called Ukrainian leader.”
The Ukrainian Parliament rejected the call for election at the end of February by passing a resolution that complied with the Ukrainian constitution and ruled out elections that cited martial law during the war. On February 5th, Zelenskyy approved an extension of martial law until May 9th.
President Donald Trump will meet Ukrainian President Voldymee Zelensky in Washington on Friday, February 28th, 2025 at the White House oval office. (AP Photo/MystySlav Chernov)
Furthermore, in October 2022, Zelensky declared that a presidential order would ban negotiations with Putin, and that Ukraine would negotiate only with “another president of Russia.” Even if the legal quagmire is resolved, it will take time to organize and hold elections.
If Ukraine's peace plan is achieved, it will almost certainly not be achieved in Trump's time, but more likely in Putin's time.
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It's not embarrassing that Trump could not solve the Russian Ukrainian challenges during Trump's era. The shame lies with Biden and Obama, whose careless policies brought Russia and Ukraine to each other's throats. Trump inherited a huge geopolitical turmoil.
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