Bloomberg: Putin's Position Is Weaker Than It Looks
- 25.11.2025, 10:29
- 8,764
The pressure on the Russian economy and army is intensifying.
US President Donald Trump's new peace plan for Ukraine is likely to fail. At the same time, in the coming months, he has a chance to develop an approach that could prove successful. This is according to Bloomberg columnist Hal Brands.
"Real peacemaking may become possible in 2026 as pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin's economy and military intensifies. But policymakers in the United States, the European Union and Ukraine must overcome their own hesitations and weaknesses - or Putin will continue to be able to resolve this war on his own terms," the expert stressed.
After the United States unveiled its peace plan, Ukrainian and European officials are lobbying Trump aides to turn a potentially disastrous initiative into a program that would allow Ukraine to survive and prosper, resulting in a shorter version of the proposal that Putin will no doubt reject.
The columnist believes that the path to a dignified settlement that ends the war without additional, devastating territorial concessions from Kiev and accompanied by significant security guarantees is to accelerate the crisis of Putin's war effort while postponing the Ukraine crisis.
"The means to do so are no secret. The U.S. needs to increase pressure on Russian energy revenues, especially targeting Putin's Chinese oil buyers. They should more aggressively apply sanctions to suppress thriving Sino-Russian strategic trade, which includes dual-use goods that support Putin's army on the battlefield. "Intelligence assistance and weapons - perhaps not the controversial idea of Tomahawk missiles, but more affordable alternatives - could further disrupt Russia's military economy by aiding Ukraine's long-range strike campaign," the author of the piece added.
In addition, the expert said, the European Union should approve its plan to transfer frozen Russian assets to Kiev to dispel the Russian dictator's notion that Ukraine will go bankrupt in the spring.
"Europe must move more decisively to stop importing the energy that fills Putin's coffers, even as sanctions drain it. Ukraine's role is to address the increasingly troubling labor situation by mobilizing more able-bodied young men. This war has long since become a contest of attrition. The goal of all these measures is to change Putin's negotiating position, convincing him that time may not be on his side after all. But to do so, Washington, Brussels and Kiev must overcome their strategic pathologies and dilemmas," Brands emphasized.
According to the columnist, Trump's peace initiatives are failing because they do not seriously combat Putin's desire to break Ukraine. Therefore, to succeed, the U.S. leader should focus on urgent, systematic leverage building, rather than wasting time and allied cohesion with fruitless diplomatic maneuvers.
"If it were easy, it would have happened long ago. But the cost of inaction could be tragic: Russia is not the only party to the conflict for which 2026 could be a dangerous year. The political situation in Ukraine is toxic amid war and corruption scandals. The situation on the front lines is undoubtedly worsening due to human resource problems," the author of the publication noted.
The Bloomberg columnist summarized that war is a precarious balance, and the bitter truth is that this conflict is becoming unbearable for both sides.
"Ukraine and its allies have an opportunity to bring the crisis caused by Putin's military action to a climax. If they do not seize this opportunity, they may not get that chance again," Brands said.
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