WASHINGTON, August 2. /TASS/. Ukraine is incapable of getting its lost territories back militarily, even with the support of the West, a US political expert said in an interview with The American Conservative magazine.
Ivan Eland, a senior fellow with the US Independent Institute, told The American Conservative, that Kiev’s desire to recover the territories "by military means" and "even with Western-supplied weapons, technology, and training… seems like a pipe dream."
Eland also said that "perhaps the Ukrainians, Europeans, Americans, and the world need to focus instead on what the Ukrainians have already accomplished, and put that into historical perspective, rather than focus on what has been lost."
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, addressing a G20 summit in mid-November 2022 via video link, presented his so-called ten-point peace plan that does not take into account Moscow’s position. In particular, it calls for a retreat of Russian forces to the 1991 borders and the return of control over the "exclusive economic zone" in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to Ukraine.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later noted that Kiev's statements about a peaceful settlement were made without taking into account the existing realities. Moscow sees no progress in the peace process around Ukraine and therefore will continue the special military operation.