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Direct News:There are reports that Russia and Ukraine may hold talks on a "limited ceasefire" in Doha in late August. What do you think? Can Russia and Ukraine really start talks?

Special commentator Chen Bing:I have noticed the relevant reports, but it is just speculation. Although Qatar intends to coordinate with Russia and Ukraine to see if it can negotiate a ban on attacks on energy facilities and reach a ceasefire first, judging from the current battlefield situation between Russia and Ukraine, any limited ceasefire negotiations seem impossible.

The current situation is that both Russia and Ukraine are on the offensive. The Ukrainian army claims to have consolidated its victory in the Kursk region of Russia and set up a command center. After occupying several villages, the Russian army is attacking Pokrovsk, which is the logistics and transportation hub of the Ukrainian army. If the Russian army captures this town, it will not only be able to quickly capture more territory in Donetsk, but also make the Ukrainian army's plan to relieve the crisis in the eastern battlefield by raiding Russian territory become a waste of effort.

This does not rule out the possibility that after the Ukrainian elite troops "insultingly" occupied 1,150 square kilometers of Russian territory and 82 settlements in Kursk Oblast, the Russian army chose not to "lure the tiger away from the mountain" and did not transfer the elite troops from the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, but continued to launch attacks and temporarily postponed the recovery of the Kursk region. In the current fierce confrontation, it is almost impossible to move towards peace talks, even "limited peace talks".

Direct News:Another "progress" in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is that two years after the bombing of the Nord Stream undersea oil pipeline, Germany claimed that "the detonator was Ukrainian." Although Germany did not issue an arrest warrant, it suspended new military aid to Ukraine. What do you think of this development?

Special commentator Chen Bing:The main culprit of the Nord Stream bombing was identified as a Ukrainian, firstly to clear the United States of suspicion of being the manipulator behind the scenes, and secondly to give Germany a reason to stop providing military aid to Ukraine. Therefore, the investigation said that "the sabotage was carried out by a Ukrainian gang", but did not forcibly arrest any suspects, nor did it take any action against Ukrainian President Zelensky.

However, there is no evidence to support this claim. It is possible that false information was deliberately created to try to divert people's attention and cover up the real perpetrator of the incident. Because underwater bombing of the Nord Stream pipeline is a highly technical job, no one believes that a few Ukrainian divers can easily blow it up. Besides, without the permission of the United States, Ukraine dare not act alone, because the Nord Stream pipeline is closely linked to the interests of European allies such as Germany, and it costs tens of billions of euros. It is a big project. If you decide to bomb the Nord Stream alone, how can the United States persuade Germany and other countries?NATOWill the country continue to provide you with military aid?

So the truth about who destroyed the Nord Stream pipeline and who gave the order has not yet been revealed. But Germany is the biggest victim and the second largest military aid provider to Ukraine, second only to the United States. Now that it is said that the bomb was caused by the Ukrainians, it is a good opportunity to "take advantage of the situation" and no longer increase military aid to Ukraine. In the future, Germany's military aid to Ukraine will come from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. This means that Germany's aid to Ukraine will be cut in half, by 4 billion euros. 4 billion euros is not a small number.