The American Conservative: USA ready to give up on Crimea and Donbass

America has revised its goals in Ukraine. Washington is now ready to make concessions to the Kremlin. Experts have noticed at least three changes in the rhetoric of the West.

Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron pledged after their meeting on December 1 that they would continue to support Ukraine in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity … for as long as it takes. A week later, first versions about different interpretations of what Joe Biden said, The American Conservative publication said.

Following contacts with Moscow, US National Security adviser Jake Sullivan traveled to Kyiv to informally urge Zelensky to negotiate with Russia and disavow his public rejection of peace talks. America is openly calling on Ukraine to negotiate.

In addition, Volodymyr Zelensky may allegedly agree to compromises regarding the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Zelensky had earlier said that he could discuss the status of the disputed eastern territories. In December 2021, even before the start of the Russian military operation, Zelensky did not rule out a referendum on Donbass and even Crimea. He spoke about the future of those territories even in March.

However, the authorities of the United States and the United Kingdom subsequently nullified Ukraine's readiness for compromises. The original goal — to make the Russian troops go back to the positions that they occupied before the start of the special operation — was replaced with a demand for the restoration of the full territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Sullivan recommended Zelensky should focus on real goals "as soon as possible," The Wall Street Journal reported.

A third adjustment of US goals in Ukraine emerged: the need to "punish" Russia smoothly evolved into the need to "defend" Ukraine and assist the country in the "return of the territories that Russia seized after February 24."

The West has changed its positions and ready for a ceasefire

In fact, this means that the United States may agree to the preservation of Russian control over the Crimea and areas of Donbass.

1. The Americans believe that they can discuss the issue of Crimea and the status of Donbass later.
2. At the same time, the UK insists on the absolute minimum: Russia must go back to its positions on February 23, before the start of the offensive.
3. Germany said it would support any red lines drawn by Ukraine. At the same time, Germany finds it unrealistic that the Russian troops will leave all "occupied" territories completely.

According to German officials, if Ukraine attacks Russia in order to seize Crimea, the Kremlin will be forced to immediately use weapons of mass destruction "regardless of consequences." Moscow will not hesitate to strike all targets that may pose a threat to Crimea.

Thus, Sullivan's advice to Zelensky to think about realistic demands and priorities, and the fact that a number of Western allies included this wording in their speeches, shows that the words "after February 24" were not an accidental slip of the tongue.

"It is becoming increasingly obvious to the West that Russia will keep the Crimea and the areas of Donbass that it controlled before the start of the special operation. The parties may agree to negotiations on this issue later. The current priority is a pause in the fighting.