Ukraine Talks Lack Firm Position Amid Russian Maximalist Demands — John Batchelor, Bill Roggio, John Hardie — Batchelor reports that US Envoy Witkoff is proceeding to Moscow for negotiations, but the American and Ukrainian negotiating positions remain unsettled and insufficiently coordinated, particularly regarding territorial concessions and security guarantee structures. Hardie characterizes Russian demands as fundamentally maximalist, claiming territory including strategically defensible portions of Donetsk that Russian forces have not militarily conquered. Roggio documents that President Putin remains overconfident regarding the conflict trajectory, apparently believing that prolonging the war will ultimately yield more favorable settlement terms and territorial gains than immediate negotiation.
1921