"Putin Will Be Forced To Retreat."
- 24.01.2026, 10:19
Security expert says how to make Russia give up Donbass.
Russia has not achieved a single strategic objective since 2022 thanks to the resilience of Ukrainian defenders and has been forced to make concessions only under pressure. Every strike on Russian oil refineries or ships forced Russia to compromise.
Executive Director of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation Dmitry Zhmaylo explained to "Channel 24" that Ukraine cannot give up the occupied territories because surrendering them would allow Russia to launch new offensives deep into Ukraine.
Does the Ukrainian action force Russia to go for a ceasefire?
- After pressure from the U.S. administration, Russia could not go for a waiver or concede anything because the use of U.S. force, as events in Venezuela have shown, the Russians are afraid. Globally, they only have an advantage when they are feared. As soon as the West strikes them in the teeth, as soon as we hit them in the heart of Russia, it starts to crumble," Zhmaylo said.
The Western press has reported that Russia may agree to an energy truce, although so far this is not obvious.
After Ukraine entered the Kursk region and captured Kadyrov and conscripts, Russia agreed for the first time to a prisoner exchange. When Ukraine began destroying Black Sea Fleet ships and driving them back to Novorossiysk with underwater and surface drones of the GUR and SBU, Russia agreed to a grain deal that Ukraine actually secured on its own.
- It is critically important for Russia to demonstrate something to its audience-at least a half step away from where the so-called SWO began, such as a full takeover of Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Unfortunately, the Americans are falling for this in order to let Russia save face. "If they don't let it do that, we remember what happened after the failed 'small victorious wars' - the first and second Chechen campaigns caused a lot of public outrage, and we remember the position Russia was in in the 1990s," Zhmaylo explained.
Ukraine has specific reasons to hold on to the occupied territories - they are defenses and a belt of fortresses, and their surrender would allow Russia to launch new offensives on easy terrain deep into Ukraine. If the West, especially Washington, shows resilience and stops pressuring Ukraine, Russia will be forced to back down on its demands.