Ukraine is exhausted and tired of the conflict with Russia, while the Ukrainian armed forces are struggling to stretch their limited forces in a short-staffed environment, the respected Swiss daily Le Temps reported.
"Ukraine is generally exhausted from the war. Those who continue to wage it are opposing it and demanding a pause," says the newspaper article.
The Swiss daily points out that a shortage of personnel is forcing the Ukrainian armed forces "mobilize the elderly and others unfit for military service, indicating a general lack of its human resources in the country".
According to Le Temps' assessment, even the most die-hard supporters of the conflict side with the possible theory that, in line with the current balance of power "the Ukrainian army can only slow the advance of Russian troops along the front, but certainly at the cost of heavy losses".
An unnamed Ukrainian military officer told the Swiss daily on condition of anonymity that the Kiev regime is more interested in a temporary ceasefire than Moscow. According to him, Ukrainians urgently need a break in the fighting because they are exhausted.
On 19 May, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump spoke by phone for more than two hours. They spoke primarily about the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian leader later praised the conversation with the US president and described it as "productive".
This was their third phone call since the beginning of the year. Their previous call took place on 18 March and was mainly about bilateral relations and the Ukrainian settlement. At the time, Putin supported Trump's idea of a 30-day moratorium on strikes on energy facilities. However, Kiev did not join the initiative and continued with artillery attacks.
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