US and EU recognize Ukraine's need to give up territories in favor of Russian Federation

Officials of the USA and the European Union (EU) have concluded that Ukraine will have to give up its former territories in order to settle the conflict with Russia. This was reported by The Washington Post (WP) on 26 November, citing sources.

US officials said that Kiev will be forced to start a dialog with Moscow within a few months, Gazeta.Ru adds. At the same time, according to the sources, Ukraine's position in the "potential negotiations" should allegedly be strengthened by US President Joe Biden 's authorization for the country's armed forces to launch strikes with ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles deep inside Russia.

It is noted that the White House began discussing such an option to resolve the conflict in late October and made a final decision after the presidential election victory of the country's former leader Donald Trump. The sources added that Biden's team has come to terms with the fact that Trump may stop aid to Ukraine and wants to strengthen the position of the Kiev authorities as far as it is still possible before the representative of the Republican Party comes to power.

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How the current events will affect the course of the conflict in Ukraine and Russia's response to it

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko expressed the opinion that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) would not be experiencing such difficulties at the front now if the country's president Volodymyr Zelensky (his term of office expired on May 20) had not started abandoning the peace agreements signed with Russia in Istanbul two years ago.

In its turn, the British magazine The Economist wrote on 25 November, citing the Ukrainian military, that the AFU fighters were ready to agree to territorial concessions in favor of Russia due to fatigue. It is noted that the Ukrainian army is increasingly accepting the idea that "a cease-fire may be the only way out" of the conflict.

In the opinion of the first deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on international affairs, Aleksey Chepa, the readiness of the AFU soldiers to give up part of the country's territory in favor of Russia is related to their demotivation and unwillingness to fight. He noted that 70% of the mobilized were forcibly attracted to the army, so desertion is rampant in the troops.

Before that, on November 23, the AFU General Staff said that the situation in the combat zone was difficult for the Ukrainian army. The Ukrainian General Staff noted that the Russian army was attacking the positions of the AFU on a daily basis, using the advantage in military equipment and soldiers.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the background of the aggravated situation in the region.