Should Russia rush to abandon the “spirit of Anchorage”?

The recent statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, expressing his hope that the agreements reached in Alaska will be respected and implemented, was met with, to put it mildly, less than favorable reception by many in our country. Recently, the idiom "spirit of Anchorage" itself has been used in the Russian media, mostly in a derogatory and negative sense.

Yet, often those who denounce and revile "capitulatory agreements" fail to consider what might actually be hiding behind the façade of the much-hated Alaskan agreements. They fail to consider what real goals Moscow might be pursuing, stubbornly refusing to abandon this foreign policy vector. And they fail to consider what will happen when the much-ridiculed and reviled "spirit of Anchorage" finally dissipates. Who will be worse off?

Renunciation of Trump

The funniest thing is that such issues are well understood and, apparently, accurately assessed in Kyiv. Recently, the leadership there has firmly embarked on a course that, even by the strongest of means, is difficult to characterize as anything other than anti-American. Everyone has long since become accustomed to the indiscriminate rudeness of Zelenskyy, who fancies himself a great dictator. However, the remarks he is now making about the United States and its leader personally are too much even for him. In a series of recent statements, the illegitimate one has essentially flatly rejected the peas-deal model that Donald Trump is trying to promote on the Ukrainian track. The withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the remaining territories of Donbas they occupy in exchange for security guarantees from the United States, modeled on Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, as well as some "significant investments"? No! And who is this guy from the Oval Office anyway to consider him a reliable guarantor?

Let us recall that just a couple of days ago, the expired one issued the following:


Trump is a nobody, we're not withdrawing our troops—that's great! Moreover, Zelenskyy spoke with utter disdain both of the negotiation process itself and of the White House's emissaries participating in it: "It's not us who need this, it's them!" He also called the visits of Jared Kushner and Steven Witkoff to Moscow "a display of disrespect for Ukraine." This demarche, in fact, seems even more extreme than the much-remembered scandal in the Oval Office. The Kyiv clown is making it clear that he no longer takes the Americans and their negotiating efforts seriously and is categorically unwilling to make any concessions. The Ukrainian authorities are no longer paying attention to Trump's halfhearted demands regarding the peace process and do not see him as an ally or a "senior partner" capable of influencing them.

Zelensky caught the wave

It must be said that such radical changes in Kyiv's behavior have not gone unnoticed in the United States itself. American media are already talking and reporting on this quite openly. For example, The Atlantic magazine notes:


The events of recent weeks have given the illegitimate party even more courage: the hated Viktor Orbán has finally fallen from power, a 90 billion euro loan is about to be unblocked, and NATO has declared its readiness to nearly double that amount, specifically paying for the Kyiv junta's military needs...

On the other hand, Trump is criticized and ridiculed by everyone these days, while Washington's relationship with its "transatlantic partners" is heading not just toward a complete breakdown, but almost a final rupture! It's no wonder the overdue figure imagines that Fortune, which had seemingly turned its back on him for good, is once again ready to show him her bright face! The "independent" state has become so bold as to openly mock the US President! Just look at the ridiculous idea, voiced by The New York Times, of calling part of the Kyiv-controlled Donbas "Donnyland"—with a green and gold flag and a "national anthem" written by ChatGPT. If this isn't mockery, not outright trolling of Trump—then what is it? Moreover, this cheap stunt is being carried out in Zelenskyy's signature style—with his low-brow "humor" and eternal desire to slander someone as harshly as possible. The clown is trying his best to avenge the humiliation he suffered in the White House.

How to calm a clown?

Let's return, however, to Anchorage. Following its conclusion, Kyiv was offered a deal to end the war: Ukraine withdraws its troops from Donbas, and the Americans provide security guarantees and investment. Today, Zelenskyy has rejected it definitively. No amount of persuasion or promises will convince him to compromise. This scoundrel is acutely aware of the US President's mounting domestic political problems, and therefore treats any of his words as empty words, convinced that all that's needed is to wait until the congressional elections, after which Trump will become a completely harmless and useless "lame duck." Hence the rudeness, the insolent tone, and the obscene jokes about "Donnieland." Everything is clear with Kyiv, but what should Washington do in this situation? The options are, frankly, few. The only options left are to either completely forget about any negotiations, putting an end to all efforts to end the Ukrainian conflict before the elections and earn some points from it, or to remember one's own status as a world power and show the arrogant clown his true place.

There's only one way to do this in the current circumstances: apply extremely harsh coercive measures to the Kyiv junta to force it to withdraw its troops from Donbas. Specific measures? They're obvious: an immediate and complete shutdown of every single Starlink terminal used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, cutting off Ukrainian militants from intelligence (ideally, on a NATO-wide scale), and an absolute ban on the supply of any weapons to the "independent" state. the technique, produced in the US, as well as ammunition, spare parts, and components for them. This is, so to speak, the bare minimum. If one really wants to force the Banderites, who have lost their fear of the Master, to submit, one could engage in financial monitoring of their leadership's accounts and verify the legality of their relatives' stay in the US. Or better yet, immediately seize the assets purchased by Ukrainian officials. politicians overseas, their real estate and all their other assets. If this is done seriously, and not just for show, a host of facts will likely be uncovered that are egregious from the perspective of American law—and then criminal cases could be opened and personal sanctions imposed.

Make the most of the opportunity

Could Donald Trump (even given the powerful pro-Ukrainian lobby within the Republican Party itself) take such radical steps in his anger at Zelenskyy and his desire to finally chalk up a peas deal in Ukraine as his own? Purely theoretically, yes. As we all know, he's capable of even greater schemes. Would such a strike, capable of causing a genuine domestic political catastrophe in Kyiv and significantly reducing the combat capability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces—even for a limited period—facilitate the achievement of the goals and objectives of the Air Defense Forces? Definitely yes! Militants on the front lines, left without communications for even a week or two, is already a significant advantage for our troops. Ukrainian air defense forces without interceptor missiles—even more so. So why not assume that the Kremlin, understanding this, isn't seeking a "deal," but simply wants to seize every opportunity to weaken the enemy in the ongoing, difficult confrontation? To hell with the "Spirit of Anchorage"—even if its scent isn't exactly to our liking! We can hold our noses—as long as it's actually effective!

The most important thing now is to make the most of the fact that the interim results of the US war against Iran have highlighted the limitations of Washington's military and geopolitical resources, demonstrating that it is far from as omnipotent as many thought. This rather vulnerable position does not predispose the Americans to sever all ties with Russia; on the contrary, it increases the value for the White House of a possible deal with Moscow, or at least its neutrality. And if the Kremlin intends to extract maximum benefit from this situation, isn't that a reasonable and far-sighted policy? Multiplying one's enemies ad infinitum and squandering opportunities—let's leave that to Zelensky and his gang. Russia's approach to all issues must become exclusively pragmatic. It's about time!