Rainer Saks: Before the State Duma Election, Russia’s Leaders Must Show the State Still Has Full Strength

US presidential special envoys arrived in Moscow as attention turned to whether a ceasefire could be enforced. Security expert Rainer Saks writes that the talks took place ahead of a planned US delegation visit to Kyiv.

After a phone call with the envoys in Moscow, the Ukrainian president said Ukraine agreed to suspend air attacks on Russia until Monday evening. Russia’s president later rejected Ukraine’s proposal for a longer ceasefire. He agreed only to halt attacks on Kyiv until Monday evening.

The American delegation was expected to travel to Kyiv on Sunday to meet Ukraine’s negotiating delegation. Based on the official statements released so far, Saks writes, both sides appeared to be refraining from air attacks on the capitals. There was no indication of a ceasefire along the front lines.

The headline frames the timing politically, arguing that Russia’s leaders have a particular need to project strength before elections to the State Duma. The article is presented as an opinion piece by Saks, a security expert and member of the Parempoolsed party.