Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered Moscow a 50-day ultimatum to end the conflict with Ukraine or face harsher penalties, but according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, Russia is willing to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine as long as it gets its aims accomplished first.
Officials from Russia, including Peskov, have denied time and time again that peace negotiations have been stalled by Ukraine and its Western allies. Even still, experts predict that Moscow will step up its long-range strikes on Ukrainian cities, releasing more drones in a single night than in many months of 2024 combined.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has often expressed his aim to swiftly and peacefully end the Ukrainian settlement. Peskov told state television that this procedure is lengthy, laborious, and difficult.
“Our primary objective is to accomplish our objectives,” he stated. “We have defined objectives.”
As part of any peace agreement, the Kremlin wants Ukraine to get out of the four territories that Russia unlawfully seized in September 2022, albeit they were never completely under Russian control. Kyiv and its Western supporters have rejected these demands, which include that Ukraine relinquish its desire to join NATO and accept stringent constraints on its armed capabilities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in Saturday’s nighttime speech that his administration had recommended resuming peace negotiations this week. According to Russian official media, the discussions have not yet been scheduled, but Istanbul is expected to continue serving as the host city.
Accord or punishments
After months of irritation over failed war-ending discussions, Trump hardened his position against Moscow on July 14 by threatening Russia with harsh tariffs and a revitalized route for American arms to reach Ukraine. Nothing came out of the direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul other than many rounds of prisoner swaps.
U.S. President Trump has threatened “severe tariffs” unless a 50-day truce is announced. He didn’t go into detail about how they would work, but he did imply that they would try to isolate Russia economically by going after its trading partners.
Also, Trump said that the European Union will purchase “billions and billions” of dollars’ worth of American military hardware to send to the besieged nation of Ukraine, restocking its arsenal. Ukraine has made the Patriot air defense systems a priority in its fight against Russian missiles and drones, and these systems are part of the strategy.
The Pentagon recently halted shipments due of fears that U.S. stocks were running low, casting doubt on Trump’s resolve to equip Ukraine.
Attack by drone
On a separate note, seven additional Shahed-type and decoy drones fired by Russia went missing from radar over the night and into Sunday, while the Ukrainian air force claimed to have shot down 18 of them.
The regional military administration of Zaporizhzhia said that a drone attacked a house, injuring two women in the territory, which is located in southern Ukraine and is partially held by Russia. Officials in Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv province reported that a drone crashed into a residential building, injuring two additional citizens.
A mother and her 7-year-old kid were injured when drones attacked a verdant area in the heart of Sumy later on Sunday, according to authorities. According to Serhii Krivosheienko of the municipal military administration, around 100 homes were left without power after the attack destroyed a power line.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that overnight, Russian troops intercepted and neutralized 93 Ukrainian drones that were aiming at Russian territory. Among them, at least 15 were intercepted as they seemed to be heading towards Moscow. According to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, at least thirteen other drones were shot down on Sunday as they approached the capital. He stated that no casualties were reported when a single drone damaged an apartment in a residential building in Zelenograd, which is on the outskirts of Moscow.
