Putin ‘has been offered surrender terms by the West’, negotiations to end the war begun. By Will Stewart in the Daily Mail.
Vladimir Putin has been offered surrender terms by the West, a respected Russian policy expert revealed today, as Moscow’s troops were forced to withdraw from the city of Kherson in yet another humiliating defeat.
Professor Valery Solovey, formerly at Moscow’s prestigious Institute of International Relations and who claims to have connections in the Kremlin, said the surrender would see Russia give up all territory in Ukraine with the exception of Crimea, which would become a demilitarised zone and its status would not be discussed again until 2029.
In return, Putin and his cronies would avoid criminal charges over the war and be allowed to remain in power, Professor Solovey claimed.
He said the proposal had been discussed between Kyiv and its Western allies before being presented to Putin’s inner circle — who had reacted positively to the idea. …
The news emerged as Ukraine today liberated Kherson after eight months of Russian occupation, with troops greeted as heroes after the last of Putin’s forces fled. Weeping locals sang, danced, hugged, kissed and chanted victory slogans as Kyiv’s soldiers arrived to take back the city — with parties going on into the night.
Russia claimed it had completed the retreat across the Dnipro River without losing a single soldier, but Ukrainians painted a picture of a chaotic retreat, with soldiers ditching their uniforms or drowning while trying to escape.
Solovey said the exact terms of the deal would mean Russia giving up any claim to the rest of the Kherson region, along with Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk — including areas occupied since 2014. Crimea would remain a part of Russia but would be forced to demilitarize, with the Black Sea Fleet relocated.
A 60mile-wide demilitarized zone would be created along the borders between Belarus, Russia and Ukraine with no heavy weapons allowed inside the zone. Russia would also have to give up its military presence in the Transnistria region of Moldova, while Ukraine would pledge not to join NATO for at least seven years. …
‘If the president declines these conditions which the Russian establishment is ready to accept… then military actions continue,’ said Solovey.
‘If massive rocket attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, first of all, power stations, resume, this means that the president does not accept these conditions,’ he said.
‘If there is no bombing, it does not necessarily mean readiness to accept [the offer to surrender]. It means that the contemplation continues, and an attempt is being made to get some extra time to assess the situation.’
Well that didn’t take long, after our prediction here.
