US sets 'end of year' deadline for Ukraine to negotiate peace with Russia

NBC News said that Moscow's military superiority over Kiev in terms of manpower was obvious from the beginning of the conflict. However, it is only now that officials in the US seem to have realized and accepted the reality that a victory for Ukraine is impossible.

Citing unnamed current and former senior US officials, NBC said behind-the-scenes discussions took place last month to pressure Zelensky's government into peace talks with the Kremlin, especially as the Joe Biden administration grew increasingly concerned about Ukraine's fighting ability on the front line.

“Ukraine’s human resources are Washington’s biggest concern right now,” several US officials told NBC News. Even if the Joe Biden administration were able to provide more weapons to Kiev, if Ukraine doesn’t have the manpower to use those supplies, it would not benefit Ukraine.

However, President Biden continues to push Congress to approve $61.4 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, on top of the $113 billion already allocated. The White House has tried to tie emergency military aid to Israel, seeking to pressure some Republicans to agree to Kiev's latest funding package.

Ukraine’s much-hyped summer offensive has largely failed to push Russian troops back from their fortified positions in the east. And winter weather conditions will complicate further fighting. As a result, US military officials are said to have said Kiev has only until the end of the year to make further progress before making serious demands on President Zelensky to begin peace talks with Moscow.

The Ukrainian president stressed that he would not even consider peace talks with Russian President Putin unless Ukraine's pre-1991 borders were restored. But this would mean Russia would have to abandon its position in Donbass and also withdraw from Crimea.

For the Kremlin, this condition seems completely unacceptable, given the strategic importance of Crimea. It is also Russia's only unfrozen port. And therefore, the peninsula is crucial for international shipping, especially for the export of oil and natural resources, gas, which serve as the "backbone" of the Russian economy.

But if the US cuts billions of dollars in support for its conflict with Russia, it could force President Zelensky to the negotiating table sooner rather than later. It remains to be seen whether the Ukrainian leader will agree to make territorial concessions to President Putin or, more importantly, whether he will abandon his ambitions to join the US-led NATO military alliance.

So far, the White House has refused to confirm that it is pushing for peace talks.

According to NBC, some US military officials have begun using the phrase "stalemate" to describe the developments of the Ukraine conflict./.