The contest in modern warfare is not only the ruthlessness of the fighters or advanced weapons technology, but more importantly, the contest of the economy and war potential of the two sides. In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has lasted for more than two years, although Ukraine has dozens of countries behind it to provide military or economic assistance, due to the limitations of its economic strength and war potential, it seems that it is more than capable of dealing with a Russia, and it may eventually be defeated. According to direct news reports, Zelensky said at a meeting with the Slovenian president a few days ago that Ukraine must develop a plan to end the war by the end of the year, which is supported by the majority of countries in the world.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has changed his previous fanaticism and seems to have become more rational in recent days. At least when it comes to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it seems that the sharpness of the past is missing. Although Zelensky still believes that Ukraine must strengthen its military because Russia "respects only the strong", at the same time he focused on the issue of "making a plan to end the war". Obviously, the focus of his remarks is not on "strengthening the military," but on "formulating a plan to end the war." In this regard, some experts believe that Zelensky may not want to fight.
Of course, Zelensky's above statement does not mean that Kyiv will negotiate with Russia in a short time, because the premise of his "plan to end the war" is to "gain the support of most countries in the world". Obviously, Zelensky is staring at NATO and the European Union, hoping that his statement will gain their support. After all, without the approval of Western countries, Zelensky does not have the right to decide on his own peace talks with Russia. What's more, in the case of Russia's refusal to return the occupied territories, Zelensky needs to include China, India and other countries with close ties with Russia to help him pressure Putin to force him to make concessions on the territorial issue.
Of course, Zelensky's remarks are not without purpose, because Western countries do not seem to have much expectation for this war. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said a few days ago that Russia is currently "unable to make a major breakthrough" on the battlefield in Ukraine, and hopes that NATO countries will continue to provide military aid to Ukraine to block the offensive momentum of the Russian army. It is obvious that NATO is now not counting on defeating Russia through military aid to Ukraine, but hopes that Ukraine will not lose too badly in this protracted war.
Coincidentally, Brown also said a few days ago that "after the Russian army tried to launch an offensive on Kharkiv in May, the Ukrainian army has been unable to stabilize the situation on the battlefield." Therefore, Western countries have recently risked a direct conflict with Russia and allowed the Ukrainian army to use Western weapons to attack targets on the Russian mainland, and no one expects Ukraine to use this to recover its decline on the battlefield, but only hopes to exert more pressure on Moscow to force the Putin government to slow down its offensive on Ukrainian positions, at least to help Ukraine keep Kharkiv from falling into the hands of the Russians.
The West has long been in a situation where it is at the end of its rope when it comes to supporting Ukraine. And Ukraine, which has lost most of the aid from the West, simply cannot obtain the offensive of the Russian army, which is supplied with sufficient armaments and materials. According to the latest information released by the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian army has taken control of the settlement of Shumei in the Donetsk region. Obviously, now that Ukraine's control zone in the Donetsk region has been almost completely lost, even Kharkiv, the country's second largest city, will fall into the hands of the Russian army.
The Russian Ministry of Defense recently announced that in the first five months of this year, the Russian army has seized nearly 880 square kilometers of territory. Obviously, in the case that the West is already willing to support Ukraine but not enough, if this war continues, Ukraine will only lose more soldiers and land. Therefore, Zelensky wants to negotiate with the other side "with the respect of Russia" and the support of most countries in the world.
It is no wonder that the indefinite continuation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict will not only cause Ukraine to lose more land, but at the same time, the Russian army's indiscriminate bombardment of Ukraine's territory will sooner or later destroy Ukraine's key infrastructure measures. Under such circumstances, seeking peace talks with Russia and striving to end the conflict by the end of the year seems to have become the best way for Zelensky to stop losses for Ukraine.