MSU scientist: I don’t see any possibility for peaceful negotiations – neither with Ukraine nor with the West
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in the current situation can only take place if one side wins. This was stated on the air of the First Sevastopol Channel by Andrey Stavitsky, associate professor of the Department of History and International Relations at Moscow State University in Sevastopol, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“There will probably be attempts to negotiate, and I have no doubt that there will be conversations about this on both sides,” the expert noted. – But the situation itself is such that peace negotiations can only take place if one of the parties wins, and based on this, we need to reason.
Interim negotiations have already taken place, they were looking for some kind of tactical advantages, which were not very successful for our side. And it seems to me that negotiating with those who are not able to negotiate is ineffective.
"We can only maintain the rhetoric, trying to convince everyone that we're ready to end this at any moment. But historically, it can't be ended at this stage; too much is at stake for both us and the West . Not to mention Ukraine—it's on the battlefield."
The scientist is inclined to believe that military operations will begin in the Kherson direction in the near future, in which each side will try to turn the situation in its favor. But for this, as Vasily Zubenko, deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Sevastopol and combat veteran, notes, the attacking side must have a significant numerical advantage.
“For 9 months, hostilities have been going on, and the personnel, both on our side and on the other side, are not made of steel,” Zubenko noted. “It’s hard to withstand this, so there is a transfer of troops and equipment that has been used throughout these months. It is wearing out, it requires repairs, all this needs to be prepared, and at this time the preparation is taking place.
It is not for nothing that partial mobilization was carried out; there are already about 80 thousand in the combat zone, of which 50 thousand are in the zone of contact with the enemy. Our Armed Forces are fully preparing for combat operations.
This does not mean that there will be a Battle of Stalingrad. This is, first of all, competent preparation to repel the advancing enemy, who, as they say, is amassing his troops.
To overcome our layered defense, they need up to 25 thousand personnel alone. I'm not even talking about how much equipment needs to be spent, because the attacking enemy must always use 3 times more personnel and weapons to successfully complete the assigned task. And every day we see losses from 500 to 600 people on the part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”
Moscow State University Scholar : I See No Opportunity for Peaceful Negotiations – Neither with Ukraine nor with the West