Vladimir Putin (Photo: REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov)
Moscow
has concluded that peace efforts have reached a “dead end” and therefore is planning
to step up attacks on Ukraine, hoping to extract a capitulation, Bloomberg reported
on Aug. 26, citing sources.
“For now, Russia is weighing an intensification of powerful
conventional ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv, including the center of the
capital, and infrastructure targets in other Ukrainian cities, the people said,
asking not to be identified because the matter is sensitive,” the report said.
The sources added that economic sanctions and Ukraine’s
strikes on Russian oil refineries have failed to persuade Russian dictator
Vladimir Putin to end the war.
“Moscow increasingly views the Ukrainian strikes as attacks
by NATO states because alliance members supply Kyiv with weapons and
intelligence, the people said,” Bloomberg wrote.
“The current phase of hostilities isn’t the peak of military
escalation, they said.”
U.S. efforts to end the Russo–Ukrainian war have fizzled out,
and President Donald Trump is currently entirely focused on finding an exit
from the Iran war.
Four sources close to the Kremlin said Moscow is still
expecting a visit from Trump’s special representatives, Steve Witkoff and Jared
Kushner. However, they said hopes of receiving new proposals from the United
States are very low.
Citing the views of Russian officials, Bloomberg’s sources
also said further escalation could eventually prompt Putin to use tactical
nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Discussions about such a step have reportedly
become more frequent among Russian hard-liners.
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