The military convinced Putin that they would take Donbass before the fall. As a result, both Moscow and Kyiv lost interest in the negotiations - FT

The military command convinced Vladimir Putin that Russia would capture the remaining part of the Donetsk region before the fall, after which Russia lost interest in negotiations. The Financial Times writes about this, citing sources.

According to them, Putin is becoming “more and more fixated on the seizure of Donbass,” despite the fact that he had previously expressed his readiness to freeze military operations along the front line. Now Putin plans to seize the entire region and raise the price of peace through increasing territorial demands. The politician remains confident that the Ukrainian front will “collapse.”

Ukraine, in turn, is upset that Trump has not put enough pressure on the Kremlin to soften Moscow's demands. They believe that after stopping the Russian offensive and striking deep into the country, Kyiv has become less vulnerable to pressure from the United States to conclude a bad deal.

As a result, neither side “sees much value in continuing negotiations,” despite the words of the US President that Kyiv and Moscow are close to a settlement. The end of the war against Iran is unlikely to change this, writes the FT.

🔵 On May 9, Putin said that, in his opinion, the war in Ukraine is nearing its end. He noted that he is ready to meet with Zelensky in a third country.

🔵 Trump said the day before that he “has no” understanding with Putin that Russia should take control of the entire Donbass. The politician added that the end of the war in Ukraine is “very close”, and he is ready to do “everything necessary” to resolve it - for example, go to Moscow.

🔵 The last round of negotiations between the United States, Ukraine and the Russian Federation took place on February 16, and the subsequent meeting was postponed shortly before the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.