[The following is a Twitter thread posted by Gonzalo Lira on June 14, 2022. For those not familiar with GL he is married to a Ukrainian woman and has been living in Ukraine (Kharkov) for almost a decade. He has a really good grasp of the culture, the political climate and mood of the people in both Russia and Ukraine . . . SC]

Why there will be no ceasefire or peace agreement in the war over Ukraine - a thread

Bottom line, neither Putin nor Zelensky can afford to sign a ceasefire/peace deal because of internal politics—though for each's foreign relations, they need to seem to be trying to.

1/20

The US has hinted it wants the Zelensky regime to start negotiating—and be willing to give up territory.

Z. can't do that—the neo-Nazis in his cabinet would depose him. They're extremists—they don't know compromise.

Remember—Z. is their HOSTAGE. He has no power over them.

2/

But the neo-Nazi crazies understand they need to keep the US happy. They know that the money they are skimming and the weapons they are punting onto the black market all come from Daddy America.

So they'll understand when Zelensky tells them he'll PRETEND to negotiate.