According to informed sources from the publication, the Trump team still lacks a clear vision for how to conclude the war in Ukraine. They have realized that the approach used for the agreement between Israel and the Hamas group will not work in Ukraine. Negotiations have dragged on for many months with little result, and although agreements were reached, neither Israel nor Hamas is satisfied with the deal and were forced to compromise, the publication states.
At the same time, the Trump team cannot publicly acknowledge that the promises of a swift end to the war in Ukraine were never based on reality. According to "RBK-Ukraine," there are two main reasons for this. The first is that the Trump team has begun to realize how challenging it will be for them to negotiate both with Kyiv and, especially, with Moscow.
The second reason is that the Trump team, particularly Trump himself, is very concerned about their image as "tough guys," the publication notes. Regarding the war in Ukraine, he cannot simply apply pressure on the parties; he will also have to sit at the negotiating table and make agreements, which does not contribute to the desired image. Therefore, the administration of the elected U.S. president is "clearly taking a pause and refraining from quick decisions and drastic actions," the article states. The authors believe that this is also linked to the uncertainty surrounding meetings with the illegitimate president of the aggressor country, Russia's Vladimir Putin, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The publication points out that only two important parameters are emerging that the Trump team may eventually bring to negotiations. The first is that the issue of Ukraine's NATO membership will be removed from the agenda in the foreseeable future, but not permanently. "The NATO topic will be taken off the table, but not thrown in the trash; it will simply be put away in a drawer," one source from "RBK-Ukraine" described the situation.
The second point is the freezing of hostilities along the line that will be effectively established at the moment of the ceasefire. Such a condition is considered outright bad in Kyiv because it does not resolve the issue of Russian aggression and the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity. It is also noted that Russia is clearly not showing a willingness to end the war; on the contrary, it is attempting to continue its offensive.