Russian President Vladimir Putin should not give in to the Ultimatum of Sanctions of US President Donald Trump, who expires on Friday and maintains the goal of capturing four Ukraine regions in his entirety, sources near Kremlin told Reuters.
Trump threatened to reach Russia with new sanctions and impose 100% tariffs on the countries that buy their oil-of which the largest are China and India-unless Putin agrees with a ceasefire in the Russian war in Ukraine.
Putin’s determination to continue is motivated by his belief that Russia is winning and skepticism that even more US sanctions will have a major impact after successive waves of economic penalties for 3 and a half years, according to three sources familiar with Kremlin discussions.
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The Russian leader does not want to irritate Trump and realizes that he may be wasting a chance to improve relations with Washington and the West, but his war goals are precedent, two of the sources said.
Putin’s goal is to totally capture the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizehzia and Kerson, which Russia claimed as his own, and then talking about a peace agreement, one of the sources said.
“If Putin could fully occupy these four regions he claimed to Russia, he could say that his war in Ukraine has achieved his goals,” said James Rodgers, author of the book “The Return of Russia”, to be released soon.
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The current conversation process, in which Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have gathered three times since May, was Moscow’s attempt to convince Trump that Putin is not rejecting peace, the first source said, adding that conversations were devoid of real substance and discussions about humanitarian exchanges.
Russia says it takes a long -term peace agreement seriously in negotiations, but the process is complicated because the positions on both sides are very distant. Last week Putin described conversations as positive.
Moscow’s declared demands include total Ukraine withdrawal from the four regions and Kiev acceptance of a neutral status and boundaries to the size of his armed forces – Ukraine rejected requirements.
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In a sign that there may still be an opportunity to reach an agreement before the deadline, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is due to visit Russia this week after a rhetoric climb between Trump and Moscow about the risks of a nuclear war.
“President Trump wants to end the killing, which is why he is selling weapons manufactured in the United States to NATO members and threatening Putin with severe tariffs and sanctions if he doesn’t agree with a ceasefire,” said White House spokesman Anna Kelly in response to a commentary request.
Kremlin did not immediately respond to a comment request for this report. All sources spoke to Reuters on anonymous condition due to the sensitivity of the situation.
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Trump, who in the past praised Putin and has maintained the prospect of profitable trade agreements between the two countries, has lately expressed increasing impatience with Russian President. He complained about what he called Putin’s “bullshit” and described Russia’s ruthless bombing against Kiev and other Ukrainian cities like “disgusting.”
Kremlin said he made a note from Trump’s statements, but refused to respond to them.
Last week, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko asked the world to respond with “maximum pressure” after the worst Russian air strike of the year killed 31 people in Kiev, including five children, in what she called Russia’s response to Trump.
