"Only This Can Push Putin To The Negotiating Table"

7.09.2026, 15:41
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Borislav Bereza identified the area where pressure would be most painful for the Kremlin.

U.S. President’s Special Envoys Steve Whitcoff and Jared Kushner held talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on September 5, and the next day, for the first time, arrived in Kyiv, where they met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and discussed possible ways to end the war.

According to BBC Ukraine, during the visit, the American envoys were also given a brief tour of St. Sophia Cathedral. According to the publication, the Russian side opposed such historical tours for U.S. representatives.

Why was this incident so sensitive for the Kremlin, and what might Moscow have feared? The website Charter97.org asked Ukrainian politician and former Verkhovna Rada deputy Borislav Bereza about this.

— You know, my first degree is in economics, and my second is in public administration. Unfortunately, I’m not an expert in psychiatry or in the autumnal exacerbation of symptoms in people with mental illnesses. So I can’t comment on that.

I’ll never be able to understand what ailments are plaguing the Russian elite today and why they’re so concerned about someone going somewhere in Ukraine.

We really need to turn to relevant experts on this matter. As for the guests visiting Ukraine, they will visit the places that are suggested to them, unless they object.

— What results from Whitcoff and Kushner’s visits to Moscow and Kyiv can already be reported?

— I don’t see any results from these visits yet. After Kushner and Whitcoff’s visit, I can say only one thing: nothing has changed, just as I wrote about it earlier.

You see, I have a good understanding of how communication works. I can read body language, and I know the archetypes of various politicians and public figures. And it’s easy to see that these two arrived without any decisions in hand. Moreover, they’re simply following Trump’s orders to remain in his inner circle.

There’s no result. Russia, by the way, understands this as well. And this peace mission was once again used by the Russians simply to buy time. All statements claiming that the war will end before winter are an attempt to peddle empty hopes and promises.

If America wanted to do this, the so-called “hellish sanctions”—(500-percent sanctions on Russian oil https://charter97.org/ru/news/2026/8/7/693999/) and on everything Russia sells. That hasn’t happened. It still hasn’t happened. The Lindsey Graham bill isn’t even being discussed in American politics today.

So what I see right now is that nothing has changed, not even compared to last year. Moreover, the Russians are making excellent use of this to their advantage. Ukraine is also using this to its advantage. It looks like PR, and nothing but PR. There are no results.

But there is a direct threat that the presidential campaign in the U.S. will begin as early as next year. And Ukraine must understand: we will not be the center of attention. Accordingly, we now need to mobilize everything we have—both our diplomatic and military capabilities—to be able to force Russia to the negotiating table.

This can only be achieved by significantly increasing the intensity of strikes—including against the Russian tanker fleet—and by crippling Russia’s ability to fill its budget. Only this can push Putin toward negotiations. Domestic problems in Russia and difficulties in filling the budget will force him to agree to this. Nothing else works.

If, on the other hand, we listen to everyone who says this cannot and should not be done, then Ukraine will be at war for many more years, bleeding out. I have no further opinions on this visit.

The only thing I can add is that the visit was, as expected, uneventful. And as of today, it is impossible to force Russia to end the war without applying pressure.

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"Only This Can Push Putin To The Negotiating Table"

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