94Ha Viewpoint
US: Ukraine has agreed to ceasefire.
EU: Russia is on the ball now.
Putin said nothing and went to a place in military uniform.
On March 12, a video on the Kremlin website showed Putin wearing camouflage uniform and suddenly went to the Kursk regional command post in Russia.
This is a rare time for Putin to appear in combat uniform in recent years. This is also the first time Putin has visited the Kursk region since the Ukrainian army entered the region.
I saw that some people on overseas social media interpreted: Putin rarely appears in military uniform, but every time he wears it, he sends a strong signal.
The video released by the Kremlin shows that Putin, wearing combat uniform, entered the Russian command post in Kursk under the greeting of Russian Chief of General Staff Gerasimov, and he immediately held a meeting.
Gerasimov reported to Putin: Comrade Supreme Commander! The Northern Army Group is continuing its operations to eliminate the enemy on the territory of the Kursk region…
According to Gerasimov’s report:
1. The Russian army has recaptured more than 1,100 square kilometers of territory in Kursk, accounting for more than 86% of the land previously occupied by the Ukrainian army;
2. The Ukrainian army lost more than 67,000 elite troops and foreign mercenaries, and more than 7,000 pieces of equipment, including 391 tanks, 2,780 armored vehicles, and more than 1,000 artillery and mortars;
3. In the past five days, the Russian army has recaptured 24 settlements, a total of 259 square kilometers of land. In some combat directions, the Russian army has crossed the border into Ukraine, and 430 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered;
4. Ukraine hopes to establish a strategic bridgehead in the Kursk region of Russia as a bargaining chip for future negotiations and attract Russian troops from the Donbas region. These plans have failed;
5. The Ukrainian army in Kursk is now surrounded and isolated. The Russian army is continuing to recover various regions of Russia, and the mission is to reach the border as soon as possible.
Gerasimov also mentioned a classic battle: a 600-man special forces unit crossed an abandoned natural gas pipeline, traveled 15 kilometers in the pipeline, and suddenly appeared behind the Ukrainian army, giving the Ukrainian army a great shock and casualties.
Watching the video, Putin took notes while listening, with many huge maps spread out on his desk.
Then, he instructed the Russian army:
1. The main task in the near future is to finally defeat the Ukrainian army defending the Kursk region in the shortest possible time and completely recover the region;
2. Consider setting up a safe zone on the border between Russia and Ukraine;
3. Ukrainian soldiers who commit crimes against civilians are regarded as terrorists;
4. All prisoners must be treated humanely, but the Geneva Convention does not apply to foreign mercenaries;
5. Thank you to the Russian soldiers who fought bravely, and believe that the Kursk region will soon be completely taken back from the Ukrainian army.
Putin didn’t go earlier or later, why did he go to Kursk now, and he was wearing combat uniforms, and all kinds of pictures and videos were spread to the outside world.
It is necessary to see the two major backgrounds of the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
The first major background is that the Russian army is winning a major victory.
The Ukrainian army is in a hard battle, and the Russian army is winning victory after victory.
Especially in the Kursk region of Russia, the Ukrainian army once occupied 1,300 square kilometers, but now, most of it has been recaptured by the Russian army.
The elite troops of the Ukrainian army suffered heavy casualties, and the remaining Ukrainian troops have been divided and surrounded by the Russian army, and there is a risk of total collapse.
The Ukrainian leadership’s intention to occupy the Kursk bridgehead as a bargaining chip for future negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and to force the Russian army to transfer troops from the Donbass front to support, can be said to have been completely frustrated.
Such a major military victory, Putin was obviously very happy, and he personally went to the front line to express condolences and commendations.
The second major background is the upcoming negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
Under Trump’s comprehensive pressure, Ukraine had to bow its head and agree to various conditions of the United States to negotiate with Russia.
The collapse of the Ukrainian army’s Kursk front-line troops has exacerbated the urgency of the Ukrainian side’s negotiations.
Therefore, in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine fully agreed with the US proposition: accepting the 30-day temporary ceasefire proposed by the United States, but requiring the United States to urge Russia to implement it as well.
Trump was very happy and declared: “Ukraine has agreed, and I hope Russia can agree too.” He said that he would talk to Putin, “This requires the joint participation of both sides.”
Therefore, the general view of the outside world is that the ball is now on Russia’s side.
Will Putin agree?
If he agrees, it means that Russia will take the initiative to give up its battlefield advantage when the situation is good; if he does not agree, it will hit Trump in the face again, which is not conducive to the improvement of US-Russia relations.
Putin must be thinking about it.
Therefore, at the critical moment, Putin rarely put on combat uniforms and went to the Kursk front. On the one hand, he commended the combat soldiers, and on the other hand, he sent a strong signal to Ukraine, especially the West.
The Russian army will not give up its advantages and will not easily cease fire, especially the Russian army will clear the Ukrainian army in Kursk as soon as possible. Next, the battle may become more intense; the Ukrainian army is in a tough battle, and Ukraine, which has lost important bargaining chips, has to face more stringent conditions.
After all, reality is cruel. What you can’t get on the battlefield, you will never get at the negotiation table.
No matter how it is evaluated, a war has lasted for three years, and it is indeed time to end it.
However, prosperous cities have become ruins, thousands of miles of fertile land have become minefields, and hundreds of thousands of people have become innocent souls. What is all this for? What has been gained? Who is the real culprit?
