Reuters: Putin Is Rejecting Talks and Preparing to Escalate the War in the Coming Months

Three sources close to the Kremlin told the agency that Vladimir Putin is rejecting calls for peace talks. According to them, his willingness to continue the war has grown stronger after Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries and ports.

“Two of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Putin was likely to escalate the conflict, now in its fifth year. One of them, who regularly meets with the president, described the likelihood of escalation in the coming months as ‘high,’” Reuters writes.

One of the agency’s sources said Putin has “taken a hard line” and intends to establish control over the remaining part of Donbas. According to the source, the Russian president recently “scolded a group of advisers” who had proposed a compromise and a halt along the current front line.

A senior Ukrainian official from the President’s Office also told Reuters that Kyiv’s intelligence in recent months indicates Putin is preparing for further moves in the war, not for peace. Among the possible scenarios, he named new operations in Ukraine or a potential attack on another European country.

Reuters notes that Russian military experts have recently been discussing escalation more openly, including the possibility of strikes on NATO bases in the Baltic states. Such a scenario could lead to a direct confrontation between Russia and the alliance.