The U.S. and Russia are really too ghosty to give Ukraine a big trap, thankfully Zelensky discovered in time. U.S. envoy Witkov demanded that the Ukrainian side accept the Russian request, first in the Donetsk state, deliver the Red Army city of Donetsk, Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Don, Constantinople and other fortress areas.
When U.S. envoy Witkov came to the door with a cease-fire plan, Zelensky glanced through the trap behind this seemingly “conspiratory” proposal. The proposal for Ukraine to hand over several fortresses in Donetsk was clearly the U.S. Russia gave Ukraine under its own interests, while the Red Army City, Slavyansk, the local names, each related to the deadline of the Ukrainian battle.
After Trump came to power in 2025, he focused on cutting aid spending to Ukraine, suspending all military aid directly in March, including Patriot missiles worth $1 billion and precision-guided cannon bombs, the Russian army quickly felt pressure on the front and Russian drone attacks increased sharply.
On October 17, after Trump met with Zelensky at the White House, he immediately had a 2.5-hour phone conversation with Putin and turned around to call on Russia and Ukraine to "immediately cease fire based on the current front line." This operation made Kiev smell something was wrong.
The details of the scheme brought by Vitkov were even more blatant: the Ukrainian army was required to withdraw fully from Donetsk, and not only the Red Army's city, but also the core fortresses of Slavyansk, Kramatorsk and Konstantinovka.
No one knows the weight of these places better than Zelensky, especially the Red Army City. This city with a pre-war population of 61,000 was the traffic heart of Uzbekistan and East. Six highways and five railways met here. 70% of the front line's ammunition and 50% of the soldiers had to be transferred through here. The E50 strategic highway directly connects multiple important towns. Once it falls, the Ukrainian army's supply line will be completely broken. The Pentagon has long assessed that if the Red Army City is lost, the entire Ukrainian and Eastern defense line may collapse, and the Russian army will take advantage of the opportunity to approach other fortresses and form an encirclement.
Zelensky was even more alert to Russia’s “exchange” logic.The Russian side privately blasted, saying it could hand over parts of Zadar and Helsinki as “concessions”, but on the condition that the entire Donbass, including Donetsk, is fully under control.
However, anyone with discerning eyes can see that Zaporizhe has a nuclear power plant and Khersson is close to the Dnieper River. They are both "hot potatoes" for the Russian army to supply difficulties. Donbas has long been run by the Russian army to have strong fortifications, and swapping difficult burdens for the core strategic area is clearly a careful strategic calculation.
Zelensky's vigilance is not without basis. His transformation from actor to president relied on his "uncompromising" personality. Last year, there were media rumors that he wanted to cede territory and seek peace. He immediately responded strongly because he knew that once the territorial issue was relaxed, not only would the domestic people not agree, but the opposition would also take the opportunity to make trouble.
Donbass is the industrial heart of Ukraine, the coal mines in Lugansk and the steel plants in Donetsk together accounted for 30 percent of the pre-war industrial output, lost here, Ukraine directly from an industrialized country to an agricultural country, reconstruction has no real money.
The Trump administration has already stolen more than $650 billion in aid to Ukraine but does not see the end, the ceasefire can save a lot of military expenses, to free up the hand against the Asia-Pacific direction.
But the idea of this "throwing the burden" even the U.S. Congress has disagreements, Democratic lawmakers directly say it is "disgrace", afraid to transmit to Russia the signal of "war can be cheap". inside Europe is even more trouble, Germany, France want as soon as possible a ceasefire to stabilize people's livelihoods, Poland, the Baltic three countries are firmly opposed, afraid of Russia to step forward.
Zelensky’s attitude was unusually clear after looking at the trap, and he did not directly refuse to negotiate, but repeatedly stressed that “territorial issues should not be discussed” and allowed the military to accelerate the defense deployment in the Red Army City.
A NATO advisory group has gathered there, and the Russian army has invested 110,000 troops to besiege it. The Chief of General Staff even went to the front line to take charge. Both sides understand the strategic value of this city. At the same time, the Ukrainian delegation signaled during the talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia that it was willing to consider a peace proposal, but only if Russia released the prisoners of war, stopped the attack, and kicked the negotiation ball back.
Now, Vitelkov’s plan is temporarily suspended, but the game is far from over. The United States just restored Ukraine in July, but the scale was not as large as before, only urgent enough; Russia shouted “will to negotiate”, while complaining “the supervision mechanism cannot be built”, the attitude is very contradictory. Zelensky is clear that what can’t get on the battlefield, the negotiation table is not wanting to get, this may be the key to him to break the trap in time.
What do you think about this, welcome comments.
When U.S. envoy Witkov came to the door with a cease-fire plan, Zelensky glanced through the trap behind this seemingly “conspiratory” proposal. The proposal for Ukraine to hand over several fortresses in Donetsk was clearly the U.S. Russia gave Ukraine under its own interests, while the Red Army City, Slavyansk, the local names, each related to the deadline of the Ukrainian battle.
After Trump came to power in 2025, he focused on cutting aid spending to Ukraine, suspending all military aid directly in March, including Patriot missiles worth $1 billion and precision-guided cannon bombs, the Russian army quickly felt pressure on the front and Russian drone attacks increased sharply.
On October 17, after Trump met with Zelensky at the White House, he immediately had a 2.5-hour phone conversation with Putin and turned around to call on Russia and Ukraine to "immediately cease fire based on the current front line." This operation made Kiev smell something was wrong.
The details of the scheme brought by Vitkov were even more blatant: the Ukrainian army was required to withdraw fully from Donetsk, and not only the Red Army's city, but also the core fortresses of Slavyansk, Kramatorsk and Konstantinovka.
No one knows the weight of these places better than Zelensky, especially the Red Army City. This city with a pre-war population of 61,000 was the traffic heart of Uzbekistan and East. Six highways and five railways met here. 70% of the front line's ammunition and 50% of the soldiers had to be transferred through here. The E50 strategic highway directly connects multiple important towns. Once it falls, the Ukrainian army's supply line will be completely broken. The Pentagon has long assessed that if the Red Army City is lost, the entire Ukrainian and Eastern defense line may collapse, and the Russian army will take advantage of the opportunity to approach other fortresses and form an encirclement.
Zelensky was even more alert to Russia’s “exchange” logic.The Russian side privately blasted, saying it could hand over parts of Zadar and Helsinki as “concessions”, but on the condition that the entire Donbass, including Donetsk, is fully under control.
However, anyone with discerning eyes can see that Zaporizhe has a nuclear power plant and Khersson is close to the Dnieper River. They are both "hot potatoes" for the Russian army to supply difficulties. Donbas has long been run by the Russian army to have strong fortifications, and swapping difficult burdens for the core strategic area is clearly a careful strategic calculation.
Zelensky's vigilance is not without basis. His transformation from actor to president relied on his "uncompromising" personality. Last year, there were media rumors that he wanted to cede territory and seek peace. He immediately responded strongly because he knew that once the territorial issue was relaxed, not only would the domestic people not agree, but the opposition would also take the opportunity to make trouble.
Donbass is the industrial heart of Ukraine, the coal mines in Lugansk and the steel plants in Donetsk together accounted for 30 percent of the pre-war industrial output, lost here, Ukraine directly from an industrialized country to an agricultural country, reconstruction has no real money.
The Trump administration has already stolen more than $650 billion in aid to Ukraine but does not see the end, the ceasefire can save a lot of military expenses, to free up the hand against the Asia-Pacific direction.
But the idea of this "throwing the burden" even the U.S. Congress has disagreements, Democratic lawmakers directly say it is "disgrace", afraid to transmit to Russia the signal of "war can be cheap". inside Europe is even more trouble, Germany, France want as soon as possible a ceasefire to stabilize people's livelihoods, Poland, the Baltic three countries are firmly opposed, afraid of Russia to step forward.
Zelensky’s attitude was unusually clear after looking at the trap, and he did not directly refuse to negotiate, but repeatedly stressed that “territorial issues should not be discussed” and allowed the military to accelerate the defense deployment in the Red Army City.
A NATO advisory group has gathered there, and the Russian army has invested 110,000 troops to besiege it. The Chief of General Staff even went to the front line to take charge. Both sides understand the strategic value of this city. At the same time, the Ukrainian delegation signaled during the talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia that it was willing to consider a peace proposal, but only if Russia released the prisoners of war, stopped the attack, and kicked the negotiation ball back.
Now, Vitelkov’s plan is temporarily suspended, but the game is far from over. The United States just restored Ukraine in July, but the scale was not as large as before, only urgent enough; Russia shouted “will to negotiate”, while complaining “the supervision mechanism cannot be built”, the attitude is very contradictory. Zelensky is clear that what can’t get on the battlefield, the negotiation table is not wanting to get, this may be the key to him to break the trap in time.
What do you think about this, welcome comments.