Diena talks with political scientist and historian Karlis Dauksts about the war and the prospects for the negotiation process. In his assessment, the leader of Ukraine retains a "moral authority." "Zelensky is still sympathetic to Ukrainians."
"I find it difficult to judge how much the entire corruption scandal and the resulting domestic political processes have shaken him, and how involved Russia is in all of this, but at the same time, it has great significance."
"There are many complex aspects that make it almost impossible if someone really thought they could force Zelensky to compromise," K. Dauksts continues. "I served in the army with Ukrainians for three years and studied them enough — they will not surrender! Even if something were to happen under some impossible agreement, the war would continue in a guerrilla form." "You see, this mutual spiral of hatred, this bloody wheel that this war has set in motion, has created a problem for decades."
"For Putin, the continuation of this war is practically necessary to hold Russian society together, where this militarized mood and support for Putin reaches 68%." – The expert shifts to discussing Russia. "Putin's extensive experience from his time in intelligence has given him a lot; he has figured out Trump's way of thinking, who will make a deal around Ukraine at any cost, and by a deal, Trump means exactly... a business transaction, which is completely opposite to how Putin understands the whole situation."
