Russian President Vladimir Putin is rejecting proposals for peace talks with Ukraine and is expected to move toward further escalation of the war. That is according to Reuters, citing three sources close to the Kremlin.
According to the agency, Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries have not weakened Putin’s position and instead have reinforced his determination to continue military operations. One Reuters source who regularly meets with the Russian president said there is a “high probability” of escalation in the coming months, though he did not specify what form it might take.
Another source said Putin has taken a “uncompromising position” on capturing the remaining part of the Donetsk region. According to that source, the Russian president recently criticized a group of advisers who had proposed seeking a compromise based on a ceasefire along the current front line.
A third source told the agency that Putin is confident Russian forces will soon seize Donbas. In response to a Reuters request for comment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is ready for a peaceful settlement but has enough capacity to act independently and continue what it calls its “special military operation.”
“Russia is ready for a peaceful settlement, but has sufficient potential to act independently and continue the special military operation,” Dmitry Peskov said in a comment to Reuters.
Reuters notes that Putin had earlier made clear in public that the gasoline shortage in Russia, caused by strikes on refineries and affecting about one-third of the country’s citizens, would not alter his plans to continue the war. He also acknowledged that Kyiv had proposed halting long-range strikes into each other’s territory, but he rejected the idea, saying Russian long-range attacks are far more powerful and destructive.
On July 8, Putin said Ukraine was trying to create a “nervous atmosphere in society” through its attacks and expressed confidence that it would fail. He also said Russia’s energy system retains a very high margin of resilience.