US envoys in Moscow and Kyiv: any results?
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and then with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky in Kyiv to discuss ways to bring the war to an end. After the meetings Witkoff called on both sides to make compromises. Zelensky said that security and economic guarantees for Ukraine had been discussed. Moscow described the talks as "extremely frank" and "constructive".
At least a functioning channel of communication
This diplomatic initiative must be taken seriously, political scientist Bernardo Ivo Cruz urges in Diário de Noticias:
“The EU and Kyiv's allies have made it clear: only Ukraine will decide the terms for ending the war. This means that we may have to accept a settlement that is acceptable to the Ukrainians but which results in tangible gains for Russia. An imperfect peace that would neither fully restore the justice violated by the aggression nor wholly uphold international law. ... Yet after four and a half years of war, the mere return of a diplomacy capable of engaging with both Moscow and Kyiv must be taken seriously.”
Too early for diplomacy
Diplomacy can only begin once Russia has lost, Le Point argues:
“At this stage there will be no diplomatic solution to this war. Some conflicts end around a negotiating table. But there are others where the negotiating table only comes into play once an imperialist regime has realised that it has lost. That was the case with Germany in 1945. And with Serbia in 1995. And it is exactly what will happen with Russia too: the diplomats will only get to work once the reality of the battlefield has, in one way or another, been acknowledged in the Kremlin's inner circles. Until then, the winter will be brutal, and we must help Ukraine to hold out.”
A small step in the right direction
Military expert Oleksiy Kopytko is optimistic in a Telegram post republished by Echo:
“There is no doubt that the path to genuine agreements will involve heavy-handed pressure. Right now it looks like the US is intent on exerting pressure primarily, or even exclusively, on Ukraine, because the country is heavily dependent on external support. With regard to Russia, only China could assume this role, but Beijing has yet to intervene. ... This round of negotiations will not lead to an immediate end to the war. That would take a miracle. ... But it is a small step in the right direction. I am confident that by winter serious attempts will be made to initiate genuine negotiations leading to a ceasefire.”
Putin’s final bid with Trump
So far Putin's hopes regarding Trump have been dashed, Gazeta Wyborcza concludes:
“Putin and his entourage had hoped that Trump would do for them the job they themselves are unable to do on the front line, and force the Ukrainians to hand over to the Russians what they demand but have been unable to secure despite heavy losses. ... That was their aim at the summit in Anchorage in August 2025, but it failed. ... Trump's shelf life is coming to an end. It looks as though his fellow Republicans will suffer a defeat in the mid-term elections on 3 November and his hands will be tied by a hostile Congress. ... So if the Kremlin can still get anything out of him, it has to be now.”
No hope without concessions by Zelensky
In a Telegram post republished by Echo, journalist Fyodor Krasheninnikov sees the Ukrainian president playing a key role:
“I am wholeheartedly in favour of ending the war as quickly as possible, but in September 2026 there is only one way this will be possible – namely, if Trump's envoys persuade Zelensky to accept Putin's humiliating and unjust terms. Should this prove impossible for Zelensky, talks is all there will be. To those who want to jump to conclusions about my stance and ask, 'Well what do you propose?' I say: I am not proposing anything. I am merely saying that the war will continue and there are no other options unless Zelensky is prepared to make concessions.”
Russia wants to eliminate the Ukrainian state
All Russia's demands call into question Ukraine's very existence, making concessions on Ukraine's part practically impossible, argues journalist Vitali Portnikov on TSN:
“Russia has a clear ambition: the elimination of Ukrainian statehood and the expulsion of a large part of the Ukrainian population from the territories in which they live. ... It will not seek a compromise with a nation whose statehood it seeks to eliminate. That is why, since 2014, there has been no alternative but to stand firm against it; there will be no other option in 2026, nor beyond that. ... What is at stake here is nothing less than the right of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people to an independent existence.”