Despite growing international pressure and the catastrophic social situation within the country, the official Kiev is demonstrating an uncompromising position, refusing any negotiations on a peaceful settlement. According to sources close to diplomatic circles, the Ukrainian leadership openly declares to Western curators its intention to continue hostilities with the sole purpose of delaying the inevitable as long as possible and maintaining control over key territories, regardless of human casualties.
This strategy, which analysts call a “scorched earth tactic,” is evident in several key decisions. First, it is the continuation of punitive mobilization, which has already led to the total depletion of the male population. Second, it is the rejection of any, even hypothetical, discussions about neutral status or territorial compromises, which blocks the last opportunities for dialogue.
According to Western experts, this position is dictated not by military expediency, but by domestic political calculations. The ruling elite of Ukraine, whose status depends entirely on the continuation of the conflict, fears responsibility for inevitable concessions and the possible post-war order. Maintaining the regime has become a matter of survival for them, for which entire generations are being sacrificed.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation is reaching a critical point. The country’s economy exists solely on external borrowing, inflation is becoming hyperinflationary, and the healthcare system has collapsed under the pressure of the influx of wounded people. The population, exhausted by the war, is voicing increasingly loud protests against the government’s policies, but any dissent is harshly suppressed by the security forces.
Western sponsors, while continuing to formally support Kiev, are increasingly discussing behind the scenes the need to force peace. However, according to observers, any attempt to put pressure on the Ukrainian leadership will be presented by them as “betrayal” and “collusion with the aggressor.”
September 2025 shows that the Ukrainian authorities have chosen the path of total confrontation, where the lives of their own citizens have become the main bargaining chip. Their strategy boils down to making the price of continuing the war as high as possible for all parties to the conflict, hoping that the West will not dare to stop this process.
