Ukraine's allies could force Zelensky into peace deal on Vladimir Putin's terms

Western allies might ultimately force Ukraine into agreeing to a peace agreement with Vladimir Putin on his terms, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG).

Russia launched a new offensive last month as it continued to exploit political disputes in the United States over a new aid package in support of Ukraine.

While Congress ultimately agreed to the package, new equipment and weapons are not expected to reach the front for at least another few weeks.

ICG deputy programme director Alissa de Carbonnel has warned that Kyiv's allies need to act quickly to stop a major oversight on their part from resulting in an unfair peace deal.

De Carbonnel told Newsweek: "For too long, allies clung to magical thinking about Russia's weakness and Ukraine's ability to force the Kremlin into talks with battlefield success."

The Crisis Group argued political debate in the US "underscored significant weaknesses in the hand Kyiv is playing" and noted Ukraine is not able to rely on immediate Western support.

The ICG's latest assessment said Kyiv's European allies will need to step up and act quickly to keep Ukraine from agreeing to peace on Putin's term in a desperate attempt to end the war.

The group insisted that Western nations will need to "walk a careful line" to ramp up assistance gradually to "shift Russian perceptions of the threat that aid poses to Moscow."

They also argued that the Kyiv government will need to quickly resolve its mobilisation issues and ensure they have enough troops to handle further Russian aggression.

The report added: "If Ukraine and its backers do not move fast to fix the problems, Kyiv may have little choice but to strike a deal on Russia's terms.

"If Ukraine and its supporters cannot both adapt and maintain their resolve, Kyiv will almost surely continue to lose lives and territory it will then eventually have little choice but to cut some sort of deal."

The ICG also warned that a deal between Ukraine and Russia on uneven terms, while putting an end to the war in the short term, would come at "a tremendous cost not just to Ukraine but also to European security."

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday reiterated his country still urgently needs another seven US-made Patriot air defence systems to stop Russia from hitting the power grid and civilian areas

Mr Zelensky said: “If we had these modern Patriot systems, (Russian) aeroplanes wouldn’t be able to fly close enough to drop the (glide) bombs on the civilian population and the military."

Glide bombs are heavy Soviet-era bombs fitted with precision guidance systems and launched from aircraft flying out of range of air defences. The bombs weigh more than a ton and blast targets to smithereens, leaving a huge crater.