LogFAQs > #984330333

ZaruenKosai posted...

So why is Zelensky agreeing to this?

It's actually a savvy move on his part.

The ceasefire applies to "air and artillery", which are the main methods that Russia was using to hammer Ukrainian positions (particularly civilians). And while a ceasefire would allow Russia to regroup, it would allow the same for Ukraine, particularly in Kursk where their supply lines are constantly being harried by Russian attacks. If they have the chance to dig in and fortify Kursk, it throws a major wrench in Russia's plans.

Russia's endgame here is clear - they'll sell Trump a deal of, "Ukraine gives us all the land we've taken from them and you drop your sanctions and, and. as a concession from our side, we'll drop the demands that they hand over the territory we haven't taken yet." Trump's dumb enough to take that deal, but it only works if Ukraine doesn't still have Kursk; if they do, they can demand a land-swap and Russia really doesn't have much ground to refuse. For that reason, Russia absolutely does not want to freeze the conflict and/or start negotiations until they've driven the Ukrainians out of Kursk.

For Zelensky, agreeing to the ceasefire allows aid to resume, which Ukraine badly needs to keep fighting, and if Russia declines (which they have since indicated they will) it puts Zelensky in the position of pointing out that he was willing to accept peace but Russia is not. Trump will now be facing pressure to "put up or shut up" on his threat to up sanctions on Russia if they're proving resistant to peace talks. At the very least, this significantly eases the pressure on Ukraine.