Donald Trump has promised to settle the Ukraine war within 24 hours – and so many expect a difficult peace, a “dirty deal” according to Max Hastings, early next year. Russian forces are now on a roll, pushing along nearly 800 miles of front in Ukraine itself, and squeezing Ukraine forces in the pocket of Russian territory round Kursk they took last summer.
Any deal for ceasefire and armistice wouldn’t be Trump’s but Putin’s. Right now, Putin’s team have said they are no mood for talks to end the war. In the past two days, Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Moscow foreign ministry and Putin superfan, has said talks could only begin if western powers agreed to stop supplying Ukraine with weapons completely.
