Why Russia believes it can still win the war in Ukraine — despite peace talks
Despite ongoing attempts at peace negotiations, Russian media and analysts continue to suggest that Moscow still has the upper hand in the war.
During a recent summit hosted at the White House, Donald Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alongside several European leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer. The meeting focused on ending the war in Ukraine, but the reaction inside Russia was anything but positive.
According to Moskovsky Komsomolets — a Moscow-based, pro-Kremlin newspaper — the talks amounted to a “powerful political bomb” against Russia. The paper claimed that much of what was discussed, including potential security guarantees for Ukraine, was completely unacceptable to Moscow.
The same outlet went further, quoting a Russian military expert who argued that there would be no true peace process. Instead, he described the meetings in Alaska and Washington as a “tactical pause.” His reasoning was that since NATO has not deployed troops and still restricts Ukraine from striking deep inside Russian territory, the West is showing weakness.
He put it bluntly:
Russia still has time and room to maneuver.
Ukraine continues to lose territory while waiting for help that may never fully arrive.
And crucially, Russia “still has every chance to end this war on its terms.”
The paper also alleged that European leaders managed to sway Trump into hardening his stance against Putin, calling the outcome of the talks “ambiguous” but warning that the political duel between Moscow and the West is moving into an “endgame” phase.
On the U.S. side, officials painted a different picture. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that Vladimir Putin had agreed in principle to meet with Zelensky, with discussions underway to make that summit possible. There was also talk of offering Ukraine security guarantees modeled on NATO’s Article 5 collective defense clause.
Still, Russian media cast doubt, suggesting that Putin might send a representative instead of attending personally. They argued such a summit would only make sense if Washington had stuck to the agenda Putin and Trump reportedly agreed upon in Alaska just days before.
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Meanwhile, the war itself continues to rage. Ukraine reported that Russia launched 93 drones and two ballistic missiles overnight, showing that the battlefield remains active even as diplomats trade words.
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