Editor, Gazette-Journal:

The negotiations for peace in Ukraine appear to be nearing a crossroad.

Initially Zelenskyy seemed disinterested in peace but has recently indicated he would like to move forward with a ceasefire and ultimately a peace deal. Putin made noises about a deal but continues to attack relentlessly. These attacks are being countered by Ukrainian attacks into Russian territory. Thousands of soldiers and civilians are dying each month on both sides.

We are nearing a point where Trump will have to punish Putin in order to get him to the table, though we are not quite there yet. Trump knows that once you start down that road, it will take some time for the sanctions to produce the desired effect and in the meantime tens of thousands more people will die.

Putin is demanding, among other things, that there be no NATO expansion eastward toward Russia. But that, and a desire for Ukraine to remain “neutral” were part of his initial justification for attacking, and a year later both Sweden and Finland, which share a border with Russia, joined NATO. Putin has already lost on his most cherished desire.

Putin could possibly have prevented that by negotiating and not attacking. Poland just deployed highly advanced rocket artillery systems to Finland to participate in ongoing NATO military exercises.

Discussions are ongoing, and Trump is giving Putin another couple weeks to show he is serious about ending this slaughter before really crushing the Russian economy. Targeting Russia’s energy and financial systems while countering sanctions evasion would dry up the funding for their war machine. This would force Putin’s attention.

It was always about negotiating peace in a very difficult situation. Calculated, skilled moves are the only chance at ending this. Stopping the death and destruction is a noble endeavor.

Tammy Eanes
Deltaville, Va.