…no senior Russian officials will communicate with their American counterparts, including with the kind of talks that were routine in the run-up to the war.
Wow. I didn't know that! Is this temporary, the divorce decree, or the beginning of "the final struggle"?
Yet should Mr. Zelensky actually strike a deal with Mr. Putin, that could lead to a hard decision for the United States: whether to lift any of the sanctions that it has coordinated with nations around the world.
That is how the end game could be brought about, isn't it? We don't tell Ukraine what to do about its sovereignty. We support them on the battlefield, organize the toll booth to collect from Russia, and support them in the negotiating room. But if Volo and Vlad reach a deal--I guess if Volo wants us to lift or ease sanctions we...should we? That is a sticky wicket. Probably not many people think as I do that we the U.S. and Russia should go their separate ways and never the twain shall meet agayne--but maybe the Russians do!
…
William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, told lawmakers last week that he was anticipating an “ugly next few weeks.”
Indeed, even as Russia widened its artillery, missile and bombing strikes on Sunday, Russian and Ukrainian forces were girding for what is shaping up to be a climactic battle in Kyiv.
“With supplies being cut off, it will become somewhat desperate in, I would say, 10 days to two weeks,” General Berrier said.
Another senior U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential intelligence assessments, said it could take up to two weeks for Russian forces to encircle Kyiv and then at least another month to seize it.
