JRL NEWSWATCH: “The elements of a peace deal in Ukraine are clear — but the two sides can’t get there yet” – Los Angeles Times
“… Russia’s huge but incompetent army has been stymied in its attempts to seize … Kyiv[] and other cities. Ukraine’s defenders have put up a heroic fight, but civilians in besieged towns are suffering a terrible toll. …. Each side thinks it still has a chance to outlast the other. … [Yet] officials from both countries have suggested possible compromises. … Zelensky has offered … to abandon his quest for [NATO] membership … which Putin initially said was the reason for the war. Putin … initially demanded the ‘denazification’ of Ukraine’s government — his pejorative term for replacing … democratically elected Zelensky with a pro-Russian president[] … [but] Russian officials have stopped mentioning [that demand.] A top Russian general made it sound as if Moscow has scaled back its military aims … [but] [a Russian mlitary leader said they] will now focus on gaining full control of [Ukrainian regions] Donetsk and Luhansk ….”
Putin [reportedly] also is insisting on Ukrainian acceptance of Russia’s would-be annexation of Crimea, which Ukrainian leaders have rejected, demanding that Russia withdraw from all of Ukraine. At the same time, the article suggests that Zelensky and his aides have raised the prospect of seeking reunification only by peaceful means.