On December 9, local time, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy successively released two key signals: first, he responded to the US call by saying that he was“Willing to hold elections”; It was Zelenskiy’s first significant shift in public stance since the start of the conflict — he had previously insisted that“Elections will not be held until the conflict is over”; Second, it revealed that it would soon submit a revised version of its“Peace plan” to the United States to promote conflict resolution.
Meanwhile, the US government is not only openly pressing Ukraine to hold elections, but is also exposed as trying to push Ukrainian troops out of Donbass, while Russian troops are advancing on multiple fronts at their fastest pace since the conflict, the situation between Russia and Ukraine has fallen into a fierce game in the dimensions of diplomacy, internal affairs and military affairs.
With the White House’s patience running out, Ukraine for the first time relented and called for an election
President Donald Trump said Thursday that elections should be held. He said the Ukrainian government has used the war as an excuse not to hold elections, but the Ukrainian people should have the right to choose. The day before, Donald Trump had said the US would not throw money at the Ukrainians and would only give them time to mediate.
In the face of US pressure, Zelenskiy said on the same day that Ukraine was ready to hold elections and asked the US and Europe to help secure them, saying preparations could be completed within 60 to 90 days. The announcement broke with Ukraine’s long-held position of“Re-election after the war”. Under a presidential decree signed by the President, the country’s wartime state has been extended to 2026 until February 3, while the Ukrainian constitution stipulates that, elections need to be held after the end of hostilities. Moreover, Zelenskiy said in September that he would not rule out not seeking re-election after the conflict ended.
Ukraine has stepped up efforts to advance the peace process by consulting the three core documents
In addition to the election statement, Zelenskiy also revealed on the 9th new actions to promote the peace process. He said that Ukraine has completed the plan with its European allies, will soon submit to the United States“Peace plan” revised document.
On the same day, Zelenskiy also confirmed that Ukraine was urgently negotiating three core documents with the US and Europe, covering the three areas of framework agreement, security guarantee and post-war reconstruction. Among them, the framework document contains 20 dynamic terms to balance the interests of all parties; the security assurance document is being integrated with the military and the“Coalition of the willing” principle, which is seen as the key to building a future security cooperation system; The reconstruction plan emphasizes timeliness and needs to be started as soon as the conflict stops.
Game intensified territorial issues, Ukraine faces double-line pressure
Despite the progress of the peace plan negotiations, the most core territorial issues, the parties game is still intensifying.
A senior European official familiar with the negotiations said the US was leaning towards pushing for some sort of withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbass to cool the situation. In response, Zelenskiy 8 has clearly responded that“Ukraine will not give up any inch of land,” stressed that the parties on the issue of territorial concessions far from consensus.
But the battlefield is rapidly changing conditions — Russian troops are advancing at their fastest pace since the conflict began, and Ukraine lost twice as much territory in November as it did in October. In the direction of Donbass, the Russian army has closed in on key positions such as the Georgi Dimitrov and has broken through Ukrainian lines in Seversk and other areas, with even the Ukrainian intelligence agency rarely acknowledging the seriousness of the situation. Under the dual effects of battlefield pressure and diplomatic pressure, Ukraine’s negotiating space on the territorial issue is being continuously compressed.
U. S. Security Strategy releases new signals, affecting Ukraine’s security arrangement
It is worth noting that Russia’s strategic security concerns have also ushered in new trends. Russian foreign ministry spokesman Zacharová 8, said the new version of the US National Security Strategy for the first time formally questioned the expansion of NATO posture. “For the first time, if not a commitment to stop expanding the alliance, the United States is at least formally questioning its perpetually aggressive expansion,” she said in a statement
Zacharová sees the document’s provisions as a basis for Russia and the US to find common ground, and hopes the strategy will wake up European“Warmongers”.
Analysts point out that this situation shows that the Great Powers’ game over the European security architecture is still continuing at a time of stalemate on the front lines, and Ukraine’s future security arrangements will also be included in the overall process of nato-russia relations adjustment.