Insider: Putin against peace talks, escalation planned

One of them, who regularly meets the president, spoke of a “high probability” of an escalation in the coming months. The information contradicts statements made by the US President Donald Trump on Monday that Putin wanted an end to the war. Trump had separate phone calls with Putin and the Ukrainian president last week Wolodimir Selenskij led. On Wednesday he also had Selenskij met on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

Needle pricks against NATO in the Baltics?

Ukrainian government sources said intelligence reports indicated that Putin new military operations or even an attack on another European country prepare. Russian military experts are increasingly publicly discussing an expansion of the war, including possible attacks on European targets. These included NATO bases in the Baltic states. Former Russian Defense Ministry official, Andrei Ilnizkialso wrote in a newspaper article that a next phase of the conflict could occur Attacks on NATO bases in the Baltics and Romania as well as EU defense companies that produce long-range drones and missiles for Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not reject this when asked on Thursday. It was said that Russia must strengthen its security.

Immense losses on both sides

According to the military expert’s assessment Jack Watling from the London think tank Rusi, Russia is not interested in open war with NATO in such scenarios. Rather, isolated attacks could serve to divide the alliance over the question of the appropriate response. In addition, a confrontation with NATO could serve as political justification for Putin at home unpopular mobilization serve.

Meanwhile, the Russian army is making slow progress on the battlefield in Donbass in eastern Ukraine. However, Putin has decided to take the remaining part of the Donetsk region, Kremlin circles said. He also emphasized this in a phone call with Trump on Thursday. The war takes place on both sides immense losses: According to the US research institute CSIS, around two million soldiers have been killed or wounded or are missing since the invasion in early 2022. This includes an estimated 1.4 million Russians.