Volodymyr Zelensky has once again called for a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin, who has so far turned down the chance to talk
AT A SECRET location in a blacked-out highrise in the suburbs of Kyiv, a senior Ukrainian intelligence officer shared what he claimed was Russia’s invasion blueprint. The classified document, supposedly compiled before Russian troops crossed the border, envisages the complete takeover of Ukraine: seizing private property and taking over banks, transport, ports and elected institutions.
But there are two big sticking-points. The first is Russia’s maximalist definition of demilitarisation. It wants Ukraine to reduce its army to 50,000, a fifth of its current size. After a month of bloody sacrifice, few in Ukraine are anywhere near ready to agree to such a cut. The second is the Ukrainian belief that Vladimir Putin will not pull his forces from areas of eastern and southern Ukraine they have conquered, or are about to conquer.
With a revealing pause and nervous laugh, the intelligence official said it was Russia’s questionable sincerity that made him pessimistic about the prospects of the negotiations. They might offer the best opportunity to avoid the “nightmarish” scenario of a protracted conflict and “Syriaisation”, or division of Ukraine into warring regions, he said. But Mr Putin did not appear to be taking the talks anywhere near as seriously as Ukraine is.
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