Vladimir Putin would have informed Donald Trump his intention to increase pressure military in eastern Ukraine during the next 60 days, as the media revealed Axios citing sources with direct knowledge of a telephone conversation between the two leaders in early July.
The warning of the Russian leader arrives at a time of growing offensive activity in the Donetsk region, while Moscow troops try to move towards Dnipropetrovsk, an area that until now He had avoided relevant incursions since the beginning of the large -scale invasion.
During the call of last July 3, Putin would have made it clear that Its objective is to continue with the operations until consolidating the controll on the administrative borders of the territories occupied in Ukraine.
“He wants to stay with everything,” Trump would have mentioned later to French president Emmanuel Macron, according to the aforementioned medium. Currently, Russian forces control approximately 20% of the Ukrainian territory, including almost the entire Luhansk region, much of Donetsk and Zaporiyia and Jerson areas. Moscow proclaimed in 2022 the annexation of these four provinces After organizing referendums without legal validity, an action that has not been recognized by the international community.
In response to the Russian escalation, Trump announced on July 14 his intention to Send additional patriotic defense systems to Ukraine. If concrete, this delivery would mark the first military package approved under its current mandate and not inherited from the Biden Administration.
The posture change of the US president, who until recently was reluctant to send more military aid, occurs after a new wave of Russian air attacks against Ukrainian cities and Kremlin’s rejection of discussing fire. According to Axios, Trump prepares to present a new military support plan that would include offensive armament, possibly with long -range missiles.
Meanwhile, negotiations between Moscow and kyiv are still stagnant. Despite two rounds of direct dialogue held this year in Istanbul -in May and June-, it has not been possible to move towards a truce. The meetings have only served to facilitate prisoner exchanges, while Russia insists on imposing conditions considered unacceptable by Ukraine and its allies.
