This weekend, Donald Trump stated that he previously contacted Volodymyr Zelenskyy, asking him to avoid strikes on Russian oil refineries and diesel infrastructure, because Ukrainian attacks lead to a global diesel shortage and cause fuel prices to rise sharply.
On September 11, Jared Kushner reported the outcome of their September 5 meeting with Putin : Putin outlined a line to which Ukraine should retreat, and these territorial concessions are the final step towards signing a peace deal. He also stated, that Ukraine is not ready to take that step and added that USA, as a mediator, is seeking a "creative solution" that will protect Ukraine's interests and persuade Russia to end the war.
However, is Russia really so close to ending the war in Ukraine?
On the night of September 13, a Russian drone struck the locomotive of a passenger train, approximately two kilometres from the Polish border
, the attack delayed the journey and passengers were evacuated. The attack damaged railway infrastructure near the border. At the time, Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, European diplomats, and security advisers who visited the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv travelled toward the Polish border. A separate train with ex-Director of the Central Intelligence Agency David Petraeus was at the station during the drone strike.
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy said he was ready to meet with Putin at the G20 summit in Miami to discuss the possibility of ending the war. The Kremlin almost immediately dismissed this: Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that such a meeting is "impossible", insisting that negotiations can only take place in Moscow.
The demand to give up the entire Donbas would mean a territorial concession, but also a loss of key Ukrainian defensive positions that protect the cities in the east and centre of the country. This сould create conditions for a new Russian offensive operation.
Russia must cease its actions on the front lines, as well as missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities: attacks on civilian infrastructure and the systematic destruction of everything that allows Ukrainian cities to function normally.
Summer 2026 demonstrated how far Russia's intentions are from peace. In July alone, at least 437 civilians died, and 2610 were wounded, totalling 3,047 victims.
In August, Russia continued this campaign, expanding it to warehouses, logistics centres, enterprises, gas stations, and other infrastructure essential to the civilian economy. In August, Russian strikes, according to the Ukrainian government, destroyed about 90% of the food logistics for retail networks.
Today, Putin has few reasons to stop. Russia believes it has gained a technological advantage in the war through the development of drones and their deployment, and that it can continue to exhaust Ukraine with strikes on cities and infrastructure.
If the Kremlin believes time is working in its favour, neither calls for a "peace deal" nor diplomatic visits will convince it otherwise.Only pressure, sanctions, and Moscow's understanding that continuing the war it initiated is more costly for Russia than ending it, can stop this war.
