Putin Is Once Again Banking On The Meat Grinder
- 12.08.2026, 18:42
Kuleba revealed the Kremlin's plans for a new mobilization.
Negotiations to end the Russian-Ukrainian war are unlikely to take place in the near future. After all, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin believes he will succeed in breaking Ukrainian resistance; he has no intention of stopping and is preparing a new wave of mobilization in Russia for the fall.
Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba explained in a video on his YouTube channel. According to him, no matter what happens, Ukraine will emerge victorious from this war.
Are negotiations possible this fall?
The former diplomat noted that there will be no opportunities for negotiations to end the war—neither now nor in the fall. After all, the Russians have no real incentives to do so.
“I don’t think a meeting between Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia will take place. As of today, we see that Putin hasn’t backed down—his economy is suffering, but it isn’t in crisis. And he, I think, is now issuing orders to ramp up missile production and find ways to strengthen his air defense. And that means he’s only moving further down the path of war. But Ukraine is playing a different game. It is showing a willingness to negotiate and to compromise. And this is not a game in a derisive sense, but a real diplomatic game,” Kuleba said.
How does Putin behave in negotiations?
He also described how Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin behaves during negotiations. According to him, Putin lives in his own illusory world.
“Putin? It’s not me, and it’s not my house. And all of this is interspersed with stories about the Pechenegs, the Polovtsians, an artificially created country—that’s all. He didn’t say this to Zelenskyy, but he tells others. That’s why his style is to delegate everything. He’s a tsar—a good one. Well, there are bad boyars and good boyars; they need to sort things out, report back to him, and he’ll make the decision. In reality, nothing happens; everything stays the same,” Kuleba said.
Will the Russians be ready for negotiations in 2027?
Also, in his opinion, Russia has no intention of negotiating an end to the war. On the contrary, they’re planning a mobilization.
“Nothing. They’re planning a mobilization. Putin has several courses of action. As far as I’m concerned, he’s not currently considering the option of ending the war through negotiations,” Kuleba noted.
How will the war end?
According to the former diplomat, Putin compares his place in history to that of Joseph Stalin, who managed to turn the tide and become one of the victors in World War II. However, the situation today is completely different, and Ukraine will win this war; yet the question of when it will end remains open.
“On the positive side, Putin is not Stalin, and Russia is not the Soviet Union. Therefore, for me, the question is not how this war will end. I am confident that it will end in Ukraine’s victory. The question is when it will end. As I have already said, I do not know the answer to that question,” Kuleba concluded.