The coming months will likely be decisive for Ukraine’s future. Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting the United States to try to obtain crucial security guarantees that will allow him to occupy a position of strength in possible future peace negotiations with Russia. During a press conference held on Friday, September 20, the Head of State acknowledged that he hoped to convince outgoing President Joe Biden to act before his departure from the White House, while maintaining the policy of supporting kyiv’s most powerful ally. could be shaken by the results of the presidential elections in November.
These preparations for peace talks are taking place at a critical time for the country, when international support from its allies remains insufficient to turn the tide of the war and the exhausted population is increasingly showing signs of failing to cope. The Ukrainian offensive on Kursk, presented by the kyiv authorities as another lever of pressure on the Kremlin, has not changed the dynamics of the fighting in the east of the country. Russian forces continue to advance against a Ukrainian army suffering from a lack of men and ammunition, capturing new villages in the Donbass every day.
Winter promises to be difficult for the entire territory, as more than half of its electricity production capacity has been destroyed by Russian attacks. The population fears a cold winter marked by major power cuts.
Polls conducted in recent months have already shown an increase in the number of people who say they are open to the prospect of negotiations. “People are in a difficult psycho-emotional state, the war is long, all forces and emotions are needed”“analyzed presidential adviser Mykhaïlo Podolyak during an interview in early August. “Ukrainian society is suffering many losses”notice Anton Hrushetskyi, Executive Director of the kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS). “It is psychologically exhausting for Ukrainians.”
“Protecting certain national interests”
Thus, according to the results of a survey conducted by KIIS in May for the National Democratic Institute, an American think tank, the percentage of those who would be open to negotiations would have increased from 33%, in May 2023, to 57%, a year later. Anton Hrushetskyi also notes an increase in the number of people who say that “Generally ready to make territorial concessions” to stop the war.
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