The situation in Ukraine has changed suddenly and dramatically. A single deadly attack in Ternopil killed 25 people, including three children, the interior ministry said. The strike, which occurred early Wednesday morning at approximately 5:30 AM, injured 73 others, 15 of whom were children. Timed to come as winter sets in, the assault is a piece of a larger Russian strategy to destroy Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.
In the wake of this tragedy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is navigating a complex landscape both domestically and on the battlefield. He’s just back from his first meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Their intention was to give a fresh impetus to the negotiations and to achieve a just peace for Ukraine. The two heads of state discussed how to work through the present-deepening crisis. Yet, direct negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow have been absent since this past summer.
With his American trip now in its final hours, Zelenskyy was expected to meet with a senior delegation of U.S. military officials. This group, chaired by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, who flew into Kyiv on Wednesday. Driscoll’s visit is intended to reinforce the city’s efforts to end the war and support Ukraine.
The humanitarian catastrophe continues. According to eyewitness Yaroslav Teslyuk, the impact of the missile attack was catastrophic – “occurring during the day and daytime, there were very loud hits.” He described how he fought his way out of the heavy black smoke that had overtaken his building.
“It was impossible to get out, although I tried twice. The windows in the apartment were not broken. I knocked on the neighbors’ doors but no one answered.” – A man who was rescued
With Russia escalating its attacks on civilian power infrastructure across Ukraine, Zelenskyy has made it clear that the international community should do more to support Ukrainians in their fight. He noted that “every brazen attack against ordinary life shows that the pressure on Russia is insufficient,” urging for effective sanctions and assistance to change the trajectory of the conflict.
The proposed measly draft peace plan for these negotiations suggests a disconcerting pivot. It would require Kyiv’s ceding of vast swaths of territory and a drastic demilitarization of Ukraine’s armed forces. This new plan would deal a devastating blow to Ukraine’s sovereignty — giving Russia the power to determine critical aspects of Ukraine’s future military and political landscape.
A major corruption scandal has recently broken involving the energy sector in Ukraine, particularly Naftogaz. This turn of events constitutes one of the deepest political crises since the onset of war. The scandal has further complicated an already escalating environment. It makes Zelenskyy’s task of keeping public faith and international goodwill all the more difficult.
Recent military advances suggest that Russian forces are solidifying new gains in key strategic areas, such as the city of Pokrovsk. As the humanitarian crisis compounds with every day that passes, this escalation injects new urgency into discussions about possible peace agreements.
In August, former President Donald Trump and current Russian President Vladimir Putin had the type of talks and relationship that most world leaders can only dream of. This marked the last significant battle between great powers. Since that time, attempts to restart talks have mostly broken down, leaving Ukraine in a new and dangerous stalemate.
“So far there are no innovations on this that can be reported to you,” – Dmitry Peskov