The latest statements show that Putin is openly betting on military force – something he made abundantly clear on Saturday. According to the Russian state agency Tass, Putin threatened that Russia “will solve all problems by military means”if Ukraine does not end the war. At the same time, he announced that the Russian offensive would continue along the entire front line – both in Donbas and the Zaporozhye region.
In his own words, the momentum of the Russian advance had collapsed interest in Moscow's compromises. A dictator is rarely this blunt. “The pace of the advance of Russian forces in Donbas reduces Moscow's interest in withdrawing Ukrainian forces from these areas to zero.”
Putin's perfidious logic: the more territory Russia controls, the less it wants to negotiate.
A difficult moment
The Russian dictator once again blames Kyiv for his brutal war. The Ukrainian authorities are “in no hurry” to resolve the conflict peacefully. Russia, on the other hand, according to Putin, is trying to end a war that he believes began back in 2014 — a familiar justification for the despotic ruler of the Kremlin that now once again serves as justification.
It's a delicate moment. Just a day before the planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Putin significantly toughened his tone. Trump has repeatedly declared before that he could “end the war very quickly” if he had the political clout — while also making it clear that his patience for an endless war of attrition is limited. Zelensky, however, remains adamant: there is no peace at the price of losing Ukrainian territory, security and sovereignty are non-negotiable.
While international diplomacy begins to act, the Kremlin makes open threats extension of the war. Putin's message is to be as clear as ever: there will only be peace on Russia's terms — or not at all.
“Putin's real entourage”
Ukrainian President Zelensky will meet with Trump on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. local time at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach (Florida). For Kiev, it is clear: security and sovereignty are non-negotiable.
Putin also declares his goals in another brutal way. Russia used nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles on Saturday for the attack, the main target of which was the Ukrainian capital, Zelensky wrote on Telegram. “Russian representatives are conducting long talks, but in reality Kindżały and Shahidy speak for them. This is the true attitude of Putin and his entourage,” added the Ukrainian president.
The situation was difficult, among others. in Kiev. “The unprecedented attack on critical infrastructure facilities resulted in a temporary power cut. Moreover, more than 40 percent of residential buildings in Kiev and part of the Obukhiv district in the Kiev Oblast remain without heating. Additional renovation teams of municipal services have been engaged to restore heating in residents' homes as quickly as possible. It is initially assumed that the heat supply will be restored within 24 hours,” Oleksiy Kuleba, the deputy prime minister of Ukraine for reconstruction, said on Saturday.
