US Made Ukraine Drop Significant Putin Condition For Peace Talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to abandon the demand for Russian President Vladimir Putin's ouster as a condition for peace talks with Russia was the result of "soft nudging" by the Biden administration, according to a report.

On Monday, Zelensky outlined his conditions for his country to have peace negotiations with Russia, which included the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, reparations for all damages caused by the invasion of Russia and the punishment of all war criminals. Unlike in past announcements, however, he did not mention that Putin must be removed from power before the talks can take place.

Two officials familiar with the situation told Politico that Zelensky changed course after a series of talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan also met with Zelensky to discuss possible peace talks, according to the individuals, who were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive and private conversations.

While U.S. officials didn't directly tell their Ukrainian counterparts to change their position, a senior Biden administration official told Politico that they privately relayed to Kyiv that they "must show its willingness to end the war reasonably and peacefully."

"That doesn't mean they need to go to the negotiating table right now. We don't even think right now is the right time based on what Russia is doing," the official continued. "But they must show a willingness to resolve the conflict because no one wants this conflict to end more than Ukraine."

In a speech in September, Putin urged Ukrainian officials to sit down for peace talks while insisting that handing back occupied regions would not be part of the negotiations, the Associated Press reported.

After sham referendums were held in the Russia-occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, Zelensky shot down prospects of negotiating with Putin.

After the Ukrainian president seemingly softened his refusal to hold peace talks while Putin is in power, Volodymyr Fesenko of the Kyiv-based think tank Penta Center told the Associated Press that Ukraine cannot ignore how the invasion is seen in the U.S. and the European Union as their aid has played a major role in Ukraine's ability to fight off Russia.

"Zelensky is trying to maneuver because the promise of negotiations does not oblige Kyiv to anything, but it makes it possible to maintain the support of Western partners," Fesenko said.

The political analyst suggested that Zelensky changed "tactics" and talked about the possibility of negotiations with Russia to avoid playing "into the Kremlin's hands."

Zelensky's change of attitude toward peace talks came as the U.S. held its contentious midterm elections. If Republicans win back the House majority, House GOP leader, and potential next speaker, Kevin McCarthy said that they would not write a "blank check" for Ukraine, the Associated Press reported.

Republican lawmakers said in private that they could support one more tranche of aid to Ukraine before the current Congress ends in January, according to the outlet.

The current Democratic-led Congress has approved security and humanitarian assistance worth billions of dollars to aid Ukraine. The Biden administration also provided military hardware to bolster Ukraine's military.

Since Feb. 24, Russian troop casualties have risen to 77,170, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The civilian death toll is now almost at 8,000, the Ukrainian Parliament's human rights commissioner said.