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Ukraine’s Constitution bars ceding #territory other than through a nationwide referendum. A recent poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that 78% of Ukrainians were against transferring territory controlled by #Ukraine to #Russia.
The Kremlin typically sees the #Donbas as comprising the Donetsk & Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine. Moscow has taken nearly all of #Luhansk, but despite trying for more than a decade, it hasn’t managed to wrest control of the #Donetsk region.
The territory proposal by #Putin has renewed the possibility of friction between Washington & Kyiv, which Moscow would welcome after celebrating the Oval Office blowup between the American and Ukrainian leaders earlier this year.
“It’s a very smart ploy by Putin,” said Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. Gabuev said the proposal could be a “poison pill” designed to weaken #Ukraine internally or get #Trump to walk away from #Zelensky if the Ukrainian leader refuses.
Ukraine’s Constitution bars ceding #territory other than through a nationwide referendum. A recent poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that 78% of Ukrainians were against transferring territory controlled by #Ukraine to #Russia.
The Kremlin typically sees the #Donbas as comprising the Donetsk & Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine. Moscow has taken nearly all of #Luhansk, but despite trying for more than a decade, it hasn’t managed to wrest control of the #Donetsk region.
It has strategic value for #Ukraine. 2 cities, Kramatorsk & Sloviansk, have served as a Ukrainian military hub since #Russia mounted a hybrid invasion of the area in 2014 & are among the most heavily fortified parts of the front. If Ukrainian forces were to fall back, they would lose those defenses. At least 200,000 Ukrainians also still live on the land.
“Some of Ukraine’s strongest defensive positions are in #Donetsk, & ceding those defenses would position #Russia to reattack in the future from a much more advantageous position,” said David Shimer, who led #Ukraine policy on the White House #NationalSecurity Council during the #Biden admin. Ceding the region, he said, would be a “massive concession.”
#geopolitics#Trump#PutinsPuppet#StrongmanFanboy#TACO#InternationalLaw#LawsOfWar#StandWithUkraine
In talks with #US officials this year, #Russia negotiators had been demanding the full territory of all 4 #Ukraine regions that the Kremlin declared annexed in 2022 — #Luhansk, #Donetsk, #Zaporizhzhia & #Kherson — even though Kyiv still controls much of the land.
“It’s smart negotiation tactics,” said Gabuev who noted that #Trump views #Putin’s proposal involving just 2 of those regions as a concession, even if it’s still “really unrealistic.”
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