According to insiders of British journalists, Kyiv and Moscow have already started preliminary negotiations on ending mutual attacks on energy infrastructure.
Points of attention
- The winter onset poses challenges for Ukraine, especially if Russian missile attacks on energy facilities intensify.
- Ukraine aims to maintain pressure on Russian military targets as leverage for negotiation in the peace talks.
- The current negotiations highlight the complex dynamics between the two nations and the hurdles they face in achieving a lasting agreement.
Ukraine insists on the de-escalation of the war
Anonymous sources of journalists said that these negotiations had every chance to end with an agreement back in August, but this did not happen due to the unexpected breakthrough of the Defense Forces of Ukraine into the Kursk region of Russia.
There are very early talks about a potential reboot of something. Now there are negotiations on energy facilities, — said one of the insiders.
If a concrete agreement can be reached this time, it would be the largest de-escalation of the war since Russian dictator Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
What is important to understand is that in October, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyi did state that the agreement on the protection of energy facilities may indicate the Kremlin's readiness for broader peace negotiations.
Insiders of the publication in Ukraine draw attention to the fact that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the Russian army have already reduced the number of attacks on each other's energy infrastructure in recent weeks within the framework of current agreements.
What problems can arise
The editorial office of the FT emphasizes that against the background of the onset of winter, Ukraine will face even greater challenges if the aggressor country of the Russian Federation increases its missile terror.
Russia has already managed to destroy almost half of Ukraine's energy generating capacity.
Both Kyiv and Moscow have previously acknowledged that ending attacks on the Ukrainian energy system and Russian oil refining facilities was in their mutual interests. But Putin is unlikely to agree to a deal until Russian forces push Ukrainian forces out of Kursk Oblast, where they still control about 600 square kilometers. km of territory... — the publication notes.
Another insider said that currently Ukraine is not going to give up attacks on Russian military targets, including oil refineries.
Kyiv hopes that this will help persuade the aggressor country to negotiate.
