The United States will not pressure Ukraine to reach a ceasefire

WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States will not pressure Ukraine to negotiate a ceasefire, even as Russia makes steady progress on the ground in the country’s beleaguered east, a senior Pentagon official said Tuesday.

“We will not tell the Ukrainians how to negotiate, what to negotiate and when to negotiate,” said Colin H. Kahl, deputy defense policy secretary.

“They are going to set those terms for themselves.”

Kahl’s comments came as Ukraine’s attempt to retain its territory in the eastern Donbas region came to a head on Tuesday, with Ukrainian and Russian soldiers clashing in street battles in the city of Sievierodonetsk and Russia has come close to claiming the city.

Russian forces and their separatist allies control between the 80% and 90% of the Donbasaccording to Ukrainian officials, giving the Kremlin potential leverage in future negotiations.

Speaking at a security conference in Washington organized by the Center for a New American Security, Kahl reaffirmed the US commitment to help Ukraine defend itself.

“Our role is to help them make sure they can defend themselves from the Russian attack,” he said, “and they are doing an incredibly brave job at that, and to strengthen their hand whenever negotiations take place.”

Despite Kahl’s strong words of support, the war has entered its fourth month and the notable initial unity in response to the Russian invasion appears to be crumbling among some Western allies who have sent lethal weapons to Ukraine and imposed a wide range of financial sanctions on the Russia.

The leaders of Central and Eastern Europewith a long experience of Soviet domination, they have strong opinions on the need to tame Russia, they even reject the idea of ​​talking to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

But France, Italy and Germany, among the largest and richest countries on the continent, are in the mood for a long war or one that could freeze in a stalemate.

They are also concerned about possible damage to their economies as European countries grapple with rising inflation and rising gasoline prices.

On Tuesday, a day before 40 Western allies met in Brussels to discuss Ukraine’s increasingly desperate demand for heavier weapons to offset Moscow’s deadly long-range artillery, Kahl sought to minimize Russian military gains in the Lugansk part of the industrially important zone. Donbas region, which includes the Lugansk and Donetsk territories.

“To some extent, this is true, although profits are actually measured in blocks on any given day. These are not radical breakthroughs in Ukrainian defenses, “Kahl said.

“Ukrainians remain loyal supporters. There are significant losses, but this is true on both sides. “

Administration officials in recent years have tried to calibrate and balance two often conflicting goals.

The first is that Ukraine must emerge as a dynamic and democratic state, which is exactly what Putin is trying to crush.

The second is President Joe Biden’s repeated goal of avoiding direct conflict with Russia, which he has repeatedly called the Third World war.

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