Human Events Daily host Jack Posobiec was joined by Gavin Wax of the New York Young Republicans, where they discussed the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the proposed ceasefire, and the broader geopolitical implications of the conflict.
Posobiec focused on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent remarks on the state of the war, pointing out that there are currently 1,200 miles of front lines—roughly the same distance as New York to Miami.
“He’s also asking questions about who’s going to guarantee the ceasefire, who is going to monitor the agreement for violations? What is the authority? Is there an international peace, is it censors? How does it work? And of course, Vladimir Putin visiting Kursk, the region just a few hours ago, really just yesterday wearing fatigues for the first time since the war began, and donning those after a strong, very strong Russian victory in the Kursk region mirroring, of course, on a much smaller scale, the great battle of Kursk in World War 2, which was fought over the very same terrain, although in that case we had upwards of 2.2 million soldiers, both of the Soviets and Nazis combined, as well as about 6000 armoured vehicles,” Posobiec said.
Speaking with Wax, Posobiec asserted that former President Donald Trump understands the broader picture of the war, emphasizing that the conflict is less about NATO and Ukraine and more about a proxy struggle between the United States and Russia.
Wax agreed, stating that Trump’s grasp of power politics enables him to recognize that the real players in this war are the US and Russia. He argued that European nations lack the military strength and economic leverage to influence the conflict: “The Europeans are obviously upset about that,” Wax said, “but at the end of the day, they’re pretty much vassal states of the United States at this point. They don’t have any military capabilities to speak of, their economies are a fraction of what ours is.” He added that attempts to rebuild European military strength, such as France’s efforts under Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s attempts to revitalize its defense industry, are “far too little, far too late.”
The discussion came after Putin’s response to the US ceasefire proposal. While Putin acknowledged the potential benefits of the proposal, he stressed the need for detailed negotiations to ensure a lasting peace. He thanked President Trump for prioritizing the issue but raised critical questions about the practical implementation of a ceasefire.
“We agree with the proposal for a ceasefire to cease hostilities, but we proceed from the fact that this ceasefire should lead to an enduring peace and should remove the root causes of this crisis,” Putin stated, according to The Guardian.
Putin also addressed the recent situation in Kursk, saying that Russian forces have full control over the region. He claimed that Ukrainian troops there are now isolated and will have to either surrender or face death.
Expanding on the complexities of enforcing a ceasefire, Putin posed several questions: “Would that mean that everybody there would leave? Should we release them after they have committed numerous crimes against civilians there, or will the Ukrainian leadership command them to surrender? What will happen? That’s not clear.”
He also questioned the logistics of halting hostilities across such a vast battlefield, asking who would be responsible for monitoring and enforcing the ceasefire along the 2,000-kilometer contact line. “Who will give orders to cease hostilities? And what will these orders be worth along 2,000 kilometers? Who will decide where there’s been a violation of the possible ceasefire agreement, and who will be blamed?”
While Putin expressed general support for the idea of a ceasefire, he insisted that these concerns must be carefully negotiated with US officials: “So the idea is good, and we absolutely support it, but there are issues we need to discuss. I think we need to negotiate with our American colleagues and partners, maybe a phone call with President Trump, but the very idea of ending this conflict by peaceful means—we support that.”
This Story originally came from humanevents.com