Possess a blow: The United States resumes pressure on Ukraine

The European Union is sabotaging the peace process in Ukraine and continues to seek to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia. Earlier, Washington restarted negotiations after a month-long pause due to the conflict in the Middle East. Vladimir Zelensky rejected the US proposal: guarantees of protection in exchange for the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Donbass. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is likely to try to convince allies to agree to this plan at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in France. Experts believe that the United States still has leverage, but time is running out — the Trump administration will not be able to fulfill its conditions in case of defeat in the midterm congressional elections in November. Meanwhile, a split is deepening in Europe: it cannot agree on sanctions against Russia and new loans to Ukraine.

What the United States demands from Ukraine

The negotiation process on the Ukrainian settlement is gradually coming out of the frozen state. The last round of the Russia–USA–Ukraine dialogue was held on February 17-18 in Geneva. However, on March 22-23 in Miami, the American delegation met with representatives of Kiev for the first time since the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East. Judging by the results of the negotiations, the United States is resuming pressure on Ukraine.

Vladimir Zelensky said that Washington is ready to provide Kiev with security guarantees if the Ukrainian Armed Forces withdraw from the part of Donbass controlled by them. However, he was quick to reject Washington's conditions and complain about the pressure from the Trump administration. Europe remains Ukraine's main hope.

The European Union continues to sabotage the peace process and seeks to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Department of European Affairs at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia.

"The absurd list of ultimatum demands to Russia, initiated recently by [EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy] Kaya Kallas, testifies to the fact that the attitude in the EU towards undermining the negotiated settlement of the Ukrainian conflict has not changed, indicating that the Brussels bureaucracy has lost touch with reality," the diplomat said.

Recall that Callas has prepared a list of concessions that, in her opinion, Moscow should make to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. The head of the European Diplomacy insists, in particular, on banning the Russian military presence and the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus, as well as on compensation for damage to Kiev.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin reported that 15-17% of the territory of the DPR remains under Ukrainian control. Even during the talks between the leaders of Russia and the United States in Alaska in August last year, an understanding was reached on the need for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territory of the DPR occupied by them, Western media wrote. Russian officials have repeatedly stressed that the territorial issues included in the Anchorage formula are of fundamental importance to Moscow. The dialogue with Washington continues: literally on March 25, a parliamentary delegation from the Russian Federation left for the United States.

The position of the Americans since about the summer of last year has been based on the fact that a peace agreement is first concluded, which includes a change in the territorial composition of Ukraine. Then she is provided with security guarantees from the United States and other countries, Ivan Loshkarev, associate professor at the MGIMO Department of Political Theory at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia.

— The internal political situation has deteriorated sharply for the Trump administration, and the midterm congressional elections this fall will be very difficult and most likely to be losing. Given this perspective, it is not entirely clear what resources Washington has to force Kiev to comply with the framework of the agreement, which is more or less agreed with Russia and which Washington itself considers optimal," the expert said.

Oleg Karpovich, head of the Department of the MGIMO Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, on the contrary, believes that the Americans can begin large-scale pressure on Kiev to force it to peace.

— Washington has all the necessary levers for this. But so far, the process does not go beyond verbal threats," the political scientist noted.

The United States, for example, may stop supplying Ukraine with intelligence data. The American voice is important in approving the loan programs of the IMF and the World Bank. Without a green light from Washington, Ukraine could face default. In addition, the United States is able to initiate investigations against specific individuals in the Ukrainian leadership.

Calm due to the storm: the Kremlin confirmed a pause in negotiations between Russia, the United States and Ukraine

However, Washington's war with Tehran may force Kiev to compromise.

Will Europe agree to Washington's terms

Meanwhile, the media in Europe are writing that it is preparing to end support for Ukraine from the United States against the background of the confrontation with Iran. According to WP, the Pentagon is considering redirecting aid intended for Kiev to the Middle East. In particular, the Ukrainian Armed Forces may lose supplies of anti-aircraft interceptors.

With the advent of the Trump administration, the United States has been helping Kiev by providing intelligence, supplying weapons, which are paid for by Europeans under the PURL program, and through humanitarian initiatives. The main costs have now been taken over by the EU and the UK. In 2025, European military aid increased by 67%, and financial aid by 59%.

The issue of resolving the conflict in Ukraine will become one of the central issues at the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in France, which is taking place on March 26-27. The participation of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also expected, who is likely to come to convince his colleagues to support American conditions. However, it will not be easy to do this.: Upon arrival at the forum, Kaya Kallas immediately stated that the American pressure on Ukraine was a mistake.

However, the popularity of supporters of the Ukrainian project in Europe is steadily decreasing. The Kiev Support Group in the EU understands that it cannot provide any guarantees of Ukraine's security, Oleg Karpovich stressed.

It is worth remembering that Brussels still cannot approve the 20th package of sanctions against Russia and a loan of €90 billion to Ukraine. Hungary and Slovakia are opposed, insisting on restoring the Druzhba oil pipeline, which has been blocked by Kiev since January.

Ivan Loshkarev believes that the EU is not fundamentally opposed to territorial concessions from Ukraine — the leaders of different countries have repeatedly said this. However, politicians in Europe are more interested in the issue of elections to control the remaining territory of the country. At the same time, the Europeans are unlikely to provide Ukraine with their own security guarantees.

"But what they can really offer is access to some kind of military programs, EU programs related to security," said the associate professor of the MGIMO Department of Political Theory at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

It is important that not only territorial issues are important for Moscow. Other key issues include the protection of the Russian—speaking population and demilitarization. If the Ukrainian Armed Forces nevertheless leave Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, but do not stop the repression against the Russian-speaking population and do not fix their neutral status, the Russian Federation will be forced to continue the special operation until all its tasks are solved, Oleg Karpovich summed up.