Putin Does Not Want to Return the Occupied Territories to Ukraine – Bloomberg
22 July 17:15
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin no longer intends to return any of the occupied territories to Ukraine as part of any agreement to end the war and plans to retain them as buffer zones, according to a report on Wednesday, July 22, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, July 22, citing sources close to the Kremlin, as reported by "Komersant Ukrainian".
Three sources who spoke with Bloomberg said that Putin still intends to use force to establish full control over Ukraine’s Donetsk region and to retain for Russia areas of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions near the Russian border. According to them, the Kremlin leader has allegedly ruled out territorial concessions, as Russia views “increasingly confrontational statements by the U.S. as evidence that the informal agreements reached at his summit in Alaska with President Donald Trump have collapsed.”
Putin Is Ready for Negotiations After Capturing the Donetsk Region
Moscow is ready to return to negotiations only after seizing the entire Donetsk region, a Bloomberg source claims. According to one of the sources, the Russian Ministry of Defense has assured Putin that it will be able to establish full control over the Donbas region by the end of this year. However, many in the Russian armed forces consider this timeline unrealistic and believe that taking control of the Donetsk region will not be possible until 2027, the agency’s source says.
Bloomberg notes that Putin has hardened his stance amid Ukraine’s escalating strikes deep into Russia, including on Moscow, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump’s support for a new sanctions bill initiated by Senator Lindsey Graham.
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