British journalist Owen Matthews of The Daily Telegraph argues that Moscow is currently winning the conflict in Ukraine and, as a result, Russian President Vladimir Putin will be the one to dictate the terms of any peace agreement.

He notes that, in his view, no outraged statements from EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas will alter this hard reality. Matthews points out that European leaders may draft as many alternative peace plans as they wish, but he believes that in the end only Putin’s position will truly matter.

According to the journalist, European countries no longer have sufficient financial resources or stockpiles of weapons to keep supporting Kiev at the previous level. He recalls that in the European Union there had been expectations that the Russian economy would collapse under new sanctions, political pressure and Ukrainian long-range strikes on oil refineries, oil terminals and tankers, but now describes this approach as primitive thinking.

Matthews maintains that the Ukrainian economy is suffering far more severe damage, and that time is working in Russia’s favor. In his assessment, Ukraine will ultimately be forced to accept the loss of part of its territories.