Ukraine leader Volodomyr Zelensky has agreed a deal with Putin that could see elections in two regions controlled by Russian-backed separatists, paving the way for the first direct talks. This has provoked many in Ukraine to protest Zelensky’s decision, made just days after Trump withdrew aid that played a huge part in Ukraine’s efforts to fight off Russian troops in disputed Crimea. As part of the agreement reached in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Tuesday, Ukrainian negotiators agreed to a mechanism for elections in Donetsk and Lugansk and to confer autonomy on these areas once the polls are certified as free and fair. The idea of fast-forwarding elections is to break the deadlock between Moscow and Kiev and open the way to full peace talks.

US aid in Ukraine was cut by Trump as he attempted to persuade Zelensky to dig up dirt into 2020 leading Democrat candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

The move may prove costly for the US President as an impeachment case is now being brought against him, although this is unlikely to see Trump removed from the White House due to the Senate being controlled by his allies in the Republican Party.

It has seen the US relinquish any initiative in their attempts to thwart Russia in Crimea, and will afford Putin more confidence in his efforts to assert control over former Soviet states.

Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, there has been a lot of speculation about Putin’s long-term goals for Ukraine and the region, be it rebuilding a kind of Russian empire or disrupting what he views as another empire moving towards his borders.

Putin has disrupted various nations in Eastern Europe looking to integrate closely with Western Europe.

Conflict and uncertainty in Ukraine damages its chances of joining or forming better relationships with the European Union and NATO.

Moscow’s influence during and since the annexation of Crimea has prevented Ukraine from its desired destination within the EU, and now as a result of the latest deal, keeps Kiev firmly tied to the Kremlin.

Georgia endured a similar fate in August 2008 when Tbilisi found itself embroiled in conflict with Russia in the South Ossetia region.

The EU helped negotiate a ceasefire between the two nations but the former Soviet state still finds itself on the doorstep of tension today.

The prevention of alignment with Europe leaves Georgia and Ukraine adrift from Western Europe as Putin’s grip on various territories strengthens.

In 2005, Putin made a speech in which he expressed that the separation of the Soviet Union was a “disaster”.

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He said: “Above all, we should acknowledge that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century.

“As for the Russian nation, it became a genuine drama. Tens of millions of our co-citizens and co-patriots found themselves outside Russian territory. Moreover, the epidemic of disintegration infected Russia itself.”

Putin’s targeting of former Soviet states such as Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova indicate a calculated effort to maintain control in Eastern Europe while thwarting the West.

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