Reuters: Putin has rejected Trump’s peace initiatives and is preparing for an escalation of the war
10 July 11:30
Russian President Vladimir Putin has no intention of agreeing to peace talks with Ukraine in the near future, despite calls from U.S. President Donald Trump. Instead, the Kremlin is considering a scenario of further escalation of the war. Reuters reported this, citing three sources close to the Kremlin, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to two sources who spoke to the agency on condition of anonymity, Putin will most likely continue to intensify the military campaign.
“There is a high probability of escalation in the coming months,” said one of the sources who spoke to Reuters and who regularly meets with the Russian president.
Putin Refuses to Compromise
As Reuters notes, the report was published after Donald Trump stated that Putin allegedly seeks an end to the war and that a peaceful resolution is “closer than it seems.” Last week, the U.S. president held separate phone conversations with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and also met with Zelenskyy at the NATO summit.
However, according to the agency, the Kremlin’s position remains unchanged.
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One of Reuters’ sources said that Putin:
“…took a hard line” to achieve his main goal—the capture of the rest of Donbas.
According to the source, the Russian president recently criticized a group of advisers who had proposed a compromise involving a ceasefire along the current front line.
Another source at the agency noted that Putin is convinced:
“Russia will soon capture Donbas.”
The Kremlin’s response to Reuters
In response to a request from Reuters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated:
“Russia is ready for a peaceful settlement, but has sufficient capabilities to act independently and continue the special military operation.”
At the same time, a high-ranking Ukrainian official told the agency that Ukrainian intelligence data suggests otherwise.
According to him, the latest intelligence assessments show that Putin is preparing:
“…for further steps in the war, not for peace, including new operations in Ukraine or a possible attack on another European country.”
Russia may escalate the conflict
Reuters notes that Russian military experts have recently been increasingly discussing publicly the possibility of strikes not only against Ukraine.
In particular, former Russian Defense Ministry official Andriy Ilnitsky wrote in his column that a new phase of escalation could begin with the destruction of about 30 major industrial facilities in Ukraine, and the next step could be strikes on NATO bases in the Baltic states and Romania, as well as on EU companies that manufacture long-range drones and missiles for Ukraine.
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Commenting on these statements, Dmitry Peskov told reporters:
“Russia must strengthen its own security and cannot ‘turn a blind eye’ to the militarization of Europe.”
Ukrainian Strikes
According to Reuters, regular strikes by Ukrainian drones on Russian oil refineries, ports, and fuel infrastructure have led to fuel shortages in certain regions of Russia. However, one of the agency’s sources claims that these attacks have not forced the Kremlin to seek a compromise.
On the contrary, they say:
“Ukraine’s recent successes have only intensified Putin’s anger and his determination to respond harshly,” writes Reuters
As the publication notes, despite significant losses and the Russian army’s slower advance on the front lines, the Kremlin has not yet shown any willingness to change its military objectives.
As reported by [Kommersant], the Kremlin had previously stated that the war with Ukraine would continue.
