WSJ: There's Only One Way To Get Putin To Surrender

• 4.12.2025, 12:40

The Kremlin doesn't want peace.

Another visit by President Donald Trump's envoys to Moscow has resulted in yet another rejection by Vladimir Putin of yet another plan to end the war with Ukraine. The clear and obvious conclusion from this is that Putin doesn't want peace - he wants Ukraine, writes The Wall Street Journal.

Kremlin officials called the five-hour talks with Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner "constructive," but also said the "root causes" of the war have still not been addressed - that is, that Ukraine is still free of Russian control.

Russia wants to absorb all of Donbass and deprive Ukraine of allies that could protect it in the future. In doing so, Putin wants to create the appearance of negotiations, and the meetings with Whitkoff help him maintain that appearance while trying to drive a wedge between Trump and Europe.

Moscow is also trying hard to convince the world that it has won the war, but Ukraine's defeat is not inevitable or imminent, military experts say.

"When I'm with Ukrainian corps commanders and watch them act, I don't believe they will lose this war on the ground on their own," said retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery.

The WSJ emphasizes that Putin will not negotiate seriously as long as he believes he has the upper hand. A U-turn in U.S. policy is needed - seizing Putin's frozen assets, strengthening sanctions extending to China, and supplying long-range missiles and other weapons to Ukraine.

"For now, however, the Trump administration is stuck on a view of Putin's motives that is at odds with events: that trade and cultural exchange between Ukraine, Russia and the United States will be insurance against war," the publication notes.