A respected Russian policy expert, Professor Valery Solovey, claimed that Vladimir Putin had been offered a surrender deal by the West.
According to Professor Valery Solovey, a respected Russian policy expert, Western officials have offered Vladimir Putin surrender terms today, Friday, November 11. The Russian President has suffered his biggest humiliation of the Ukraine conflict after being forced to pull his troops out of the Kherson region.
Solovey, who claims to have connections in the Kremlin, was previously involved with Moscow’s prestigious Institute of International Relations. He claimed that Russia had been told it could retain Crimea although it had to transform into a demilitarized zone. In this event, Crimea’s status would not be discussed again until 2029.
A proposal discussed between Ukrainian leaders in Kyiv and western officials had subsequently been passed to the Kremlin for the perusal of Putin’s inner circle. As part of the surrender, Russia must also give up all the occupied territories in Ukraine.
In return for meeting the surrender conditions, Russian officials would allegedly avoid facing any criminal charges over their involvement in the Ukrainian invasion and subsequent conflict. Solovey claimed that the proposal had been met with a positive reaction by the Russians, as reported by dailymail.co.uk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously maintained that as long as Putin was in power, his government would never sit down at the negotiating table with Moscow. Last week, however, he issued a list of five conditions that would have to be met in order for any peace talks to take place.
It is thought that this sudden turnaround came as the result of increased pressure from Washington. Russia had reportedly been open to sitting down, and General Mark Milley, the head of the US general staff, commented earlier this week that there would be an ‘opportunity’ for talks if the fighting was to drop off during winter.
Vladimir Putin has faced unprecedented criticism from the Russian media since the Russian forces announced their retreat from Kherson. Videos posted on social media today show Ukrainian troops entering the previously Russian-occupied city of Kherson and being welcomed as heroes by ecstatic locals.
