Zelensky suddenly changed his tune Will the Russia-Ukraine conflict ease?

On March 28th local time, Ukrainian President Zelensky stated in an interview with CBS that if Ukraine can return to the 2022 border before the special military operation, Russia will "prepare for dialogue.". He also emphasized, "We don't need to liberate all occupied territories solely through military means."

The media's understanding of Zelensky's speech is that even without restoring Ukraine's 1991 borders, peace talks between Moscow and Kiev can still begin: he is currently discussing Ukraine's 2022 borders.

As is well known, under Zelensky's leadership, Ukraine has passed legislation prohibiting negotiations with Russia. Zelensky has also made it clear that peace negotiations cannot begin until Russian troops leave Ukrainian territory within the 1991 border. So, why has he suddenly changed his attitude now?

Observers believe that the most important reason Zelensky has changed his stance and agreed to negotiations is that the situation on the front battlefield is quite unfavorable, and the aid from the United States and NATO in the rear is constantly shrinking. Ukraine alone is no longer able to resist Russia's fierce attack.

It can be said that due to NATO's delayed military aid to Ukraine, the Ukrainian army has been repeatedly retreating on the battlefield. Therefore, Zelensky changed his previous tone and stated that he may agree to negotiate based on the 2022 border. In other words, some areas of Crimea and Donbass are assumed to belong to the Russian side.

However, at the current level of war, will the Russian side agree to peace talks? But as long as peace talks can take place, there may be a glimmer of hope for peace.

From the Russian perspective, compared to the border in 2022, the border between Russia and Ukraine in 1991 only lost Crimea, which means it has returned to its pre war state. But the current situation is that Russia has occupied Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Will Russia easily let go and agree to negotiate in this favorable situation?

Recently, Russian spokesperson Zakharova pointed out that after May 21st, Western countries cooperating with Russia will not recognize Zelensky's presidential identity, and any conditions and commitments made by Zelensky will be illegal and invalid.

On March 30th local time, the Ukrainian Independent News Agency reported, citing the Central Ukrainian Energy Company, that the largest power plant in eastern Ukraine, the Zmyev Thermal Power Plant located in Kharkiv Oblast, had been destroyed in a missile attack by the Russian military on March 22nd.

On the 29th, Harchenko, director of the Ukrainian Energy Research Center, stated in an interview with Ukrainian media that since the Russian military launched a large-scale airstrike on Ukraine's energy facilities on the 22nd, Ukraine has lost 10% to 12% of its power generation capacity, and the damaged power facilities are difficult to repair in the short term. During the electricity peak in mid to late July this year, Ukraine is likely to face a serious electricity deficit.

And Zelensky's attitude seems to indicate even more that Ukraine has fallen into a predicament. He said that delaying the approval of a $60 billion military aid plan by the US Congress would be costly for Ukraine. "US lawmakers have been debating the plan for nearly six months, and the Ukrainian military has been unable to plan future actions." Zelensky warned that the struggling Ukrainian army may have to retreat to ensure the safety of the front line and save ammunition. ".

Zelensky also claimed that if the United States does not provide weapons to prevent Russian attacks, Ukraine will escalate its counterattack against strategic targets such as Russian airports and energy facilities. He also confirmed that drones had been used to attack the refinery and stated that Washington could not restrict Ukraine's use of domestically produced weapons.

However, the problem is that even if Ukraine has the ability, if Zelensky dares to do so, there is no doubt that he will face even more intense retaliation from the Russian side.

In any case, if Zerensky's attitude is true, the protracted Russia-Ukraine conflict may usher in a turnaround. History has proven countless times that relying on power and violence cannot fundamentally solve problems, but will only make problems and contradictions more prominent. I hope both sides can return to the channel of dialogue to resolve the issue as soon as possible, and end this conflict that has caused heavy disasters to the people of both countries as soon as possible.