Ukrainian diplomat Valeriy Chaly in a Dec 27, 2025 interview to the Obozrevatel:
"Putin has a strong desire to demonstrate aggression. And, in my opinion, we see all the signs that China supports this intention to demonstrate Europe's weakness and subordination.
This now coincides with the Trump administration's desires: to subjugate the Europeans, to make them more "comfortable." The goal is to dominate trade issues in order to gain an advantage in these negotiations.
Things are shaping up so that China and America are at the table, and Russia wants to join them, although it has no other reason than two factors: nuclear weapons and the war in Ukraine. For Putin, war is a tool for maintaining his power in Russia and bargaining on the geopolitical stage; he still hopes to gain a foothold there. Furthermore, he's trying to keep the empire from completely disintegrating. I believe the collapse of the Soviet empire is still underway. The Soviet Union hasn't quite collapsed yet. There are still many republics in Russia that are looking for an exit, having failed to do so in 1991...
It is important that Ukrainian negotiators do not make the mistakes of Budapest, according to which nuclear disarmament actually took place.
The first point [in the current negotiations] was a ceasefire. That was Trump's position, and he pressured Zelensky. The Ukrainian president said it wasn't acceptable. Then we agreed. [Then Putin didn't want.] "While you're busy implementing peace agreements in parliament, I'll be fighting," says Russia. "And the longer you delay, the more I'll destroy you."
Now Russia and the United States are putting pressure on us together. For what purpose? So that we'll trade our unoccupied territories for guarantees of territorial integrity. It's no surprise that the countries that guaranteed Ukrainian territorial integrity are now forcing Ukraine to give up more territory in order to guarantee its territorial integrity again. This is nonsense...
This is a manifestation of the weakness of Ukraine's negotiating position, and they are pressuring us in the same way as they did to achieve Ukraine's nuclear disarmament: the US is acting together with Russia...
The American president says he's ready to provide a security guarantee at the level of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. That's one sentence. The second sentence: I'm against your membership in NATO... The third sentence: I want European countries to take responsibility for Ukraine and pay for it. Where's the logic? If you want security for Ukraine, why can't Ukraine immediately be a member of the Alliance, and America not take on some of the responsibility? There's no logic, it doesn't add up. And why? One of the statements is wrong. Which one? I think it's that America is ready to provide security guarantees.
The current negotiating track is a false start. Especially since we're now, it seems to me, at almost the highest point of escalation in the war on the ground: Ukraine is at its lowest point since 2022, and Russia is at its highest. Smart people don't negotiate under these conditions, and we're being pressured. However, there will be a window of opportunity, and it will open next year, when Ukraine's position will be stronger than it is today."
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