Ukraine becoming ‘more flexible’ as endgame approaches – Bloomberg

Kiev’s allies in the West believe that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky may be getting ready to take “a more flexible approach” to ending the fighting with Russia through diplomatic means, Bloomberg has reported.

In his public statements, Zelensky insists that any talks with Moscow can begin only after the complete withdrawal of Russian forces from all territories Kiev claims as its own. Earlier this week, he reiterated that “reliable peace and security” must be achieved “without any bargaining over sovereignty or trading territories.”

However, in an article on Tuesday, the agency cited NATO sources as saying Ukrainian officials have signaled that “they are prepared to recognize that an endgame should come into play” in the conflict with Russia.

The unnamed officials from the US-led military bloc did not specify what concessions Kiev might be willing to make to end the fighting, Bloomberg stressed.

“The shift in sentiment” in the Ukrainian capital was to be put to the test at a meeting of Kiev’s Western backers in Germany on Saturday, but US President Joe Biden postponed the gathering at Ramstein Air Base to focus on a response to Hurricane Milton, the agency reported.

One of the sources said Ukrainian officials are refusing to publicly reveal the details of their so-called ‘victory plan,’ which Zelensky promoted during his trip to the US in late September. The idea is to keep things open-ended so they have “an element of strategic ambiguity that would give them space for movement further ahead,” the source added.

According to media reports, one of the key clauses in the proposal is the provision of Western security guarantees for Kiev, similar to NATO’s principle of collective defense.

Bloomberg claimed that a potential offer of NATO membership for Kiev is seen as a potential factor in any future negotiations with Moscow.

However, one of the NATO officials told the agency that as Russia views Ukraine’s accession to the US-led military bloc as ‘a red line,’ it is “not clear what kind of formula would be able to get all parties around the negotiating table.” 

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was ready to stop the fighting and immediately begin talks with Ukraine if Kiev were to officially give up its NATO aspirations and withdraw from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye, regions, which joined Russia after referendums in the fall of 2022.

Zelensky rejected the offer, branding it an “ultimatum.” The Kremlin said those terms were no longer on the table after Ukraine launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region in early August.