Sikorski: Putin still believes he can win the war, no grounds for optimism on talks

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said on Wednesday at a joint press conference with Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže at the Ādaži military base that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin still believes he can win the war and achieve his goals. Because of this, Sikorski said, there is currently no basis for optimism regarding negotiations between the United States and Russia.

Sikorski noted that, judging by Russia's rhetoric, Putin has not sufficiently shifted his red lines to bring them closer to Ukraine's positions at any point. Russian representatives openly state that their war aims have not changed, and Moscow continues to reject repeated proposals for a ceasefire that would provide time for negotiations.

Putin banking on mobilization and winter

According to the Polish minister, Putin still believes he holds two trump cards — mobilization and winter. For this reason, Sikorski stressed, other countries must continue strengthening Ukraine, particularly its ability to strike Russian oil refineries and to hold the front line.

The Polish minister spoke positively of the visit to Kyiv by US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, saying it gave Ukraine an opportunity to explain the real situation on the battlefield and the difficulties it faces.

Earlier visits to Moscow and Kyiv

As previously reported, Witkoff said on Monday that weekend visits to Moscow and Kyiv had achieved significant progress in efforts to halt Russia's war against Ukraine. After meeting Putin in Moscow, Witkoff and Kushner traveled to Ukraine's capital, where they met with President Volodymyr Zelensky. Following that meeting, participants said new ideas for ending the war had been brought to Kyiv, without specifying their content.