【By Observer News, Wang Kaiwen】After the war between Russia and Ukraine has dragged on for so long, President Trump's dream of ending the conflict within 24 hours has long turned into nothing. Trump is becoming increasingly impatient with Russian President Putin, and he has threatened to consider further sanctions against Russia.

However, according to a report by The New York Times on July 9, citing analysts and sources, Putin ignores Trump's expression of "disappointment" and is intensifying military offensives against Ukraine. He has already considered the possibility of new pressure from the United States.

According to two people close to the Kremlin, Putin is confident that Russia's advantage on the battlefield is increasing, and Ukraine's defense may collapse in the coming months. These anonymous sources also said that given Russia's continuous offensive, Putin believes that it is impossible to stop the fighting now unless Ukraine makes significant concessions.

"He (Putin) will not sacrifice his goals in Ukraine for improving relations with Trump," said Tatyana Stanovaya, a senior researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Russia and Eurasia Center in Germany.

The report points out that Putin's current hardline stance marks a clear reversal of expectations about the Ukraine-Russia conflict earlier this year. At that time, Trump had just taken office and was actively pushing for rapprochement with Russia, his friendly attitude towards Moscow contrasted sharply with his fierce arguments with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.

But as Russian forces continue to advance on the battlefield, while Ukraine struggles with a lack of frontline troops, Russia's confidence has grown.

On March 12, 2025, local time, Russian President Putin visited the Kursk front command post wearing a military uniform. Visual China

The report states that although Trump expressed dissatisfaction with Putin, the latter obviously has prepared to sacrifice relations with the U.S. president in the current situation to pursue the ultimate goal that has gradually taken shape over 40 months since the outbreak of the Ukraine-Russia conflict - making Ukraine submit to his demands.

In recent months, Russia has continuously increased its attacks on Ukraine and made breakthroughs. In late April, the Russian military announced that it had completely recaptured the Kursk region that had been previously invaded by Ukrainian forces. On June 30, the leader of the Luhansk region, Pasechik, said that Russian forces had controlled the entire Luhansk area. Recently, General Serebnyak, the head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, stated that Russian forces have gathered 110,000 troops to prepare to attack the key city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. Russian forces have also launched an offensive against Dnipropetrovsk region.

Russian forces have recently increased missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, which has caused strong dissatisfaction among Trump. On July 8 local time, during a White House cabinet meeting, Trump said that he had approved the delivery of more defensive weapons to Ukraine and was "seriously considering" further sanctions against Russia.

Trump openly expressed his dissatisfaction with Putin, even swearing in front of the media: "If you want the truth, Putin told us a lot of bullsh*t. His attitude has always been good, but the result is meaningless."

Since February this year, the leaders of the United States and Russia have communicated six times, and Russia and Ukraine have also held two rounds of direct negotiations in Istanbul, Turkey, but there has been no breakthrough in the Ukraine-Russia issue.

The report pointed out that, as Trump admitted on the 8th, Putin has not made any substantive concessions on the Ukraine issue. At the end of last month, during a press conference in Belarus, Putin said he understood Trump's frustration and mentioned that Trump had recently admitted that the Ukraine conflict was more difficult to end than he had expected.

"It is indeed true," Putin said, "the reality is always much more complicated than imagined."

When asked about Trump's recent remarks, the spokesperson for the Russian president, Peskov, downplayed the sharp criticism of Putin. "We remain calm about it," Peskov said, "we expect to continue dialogue with Washington and work to repair our seriously damaged bilateral relations." He added that Trump's way of expression "is indeed quite tough."

According to two people close to the Kremlin, Putin had already anticipated that Trump's patience would eventually run out. They said that Putin has always been aware that Trump might eventually impose new sanctions.

"Putin places great importance on and is investing in his personal relationship with Trump," said Stanovaya, "but at the same time, he has never entertained any illusions about the possible development of U.S. policy toward Russia. The Russian leadership has always been preparing for the worst-case scenario."

On July 4, 2025, local time, Kyiv, Ukraine, Russian forces launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on the capital of Ukraine. Visual China

"In a way, Putin is very rational," said Stefan Maier, a Russian expert at the German Foreign Policy Association, "why should he change his behavior if the other side does not increase the cost?"

The report points out that Putin's goals in Ukraine go far beyond merely maintaining the territory already occupied by Russian forces. He requires NATO not to expand eastward and to remove existing infrastructure, demands Ukraine take a neutral position, limit its military size, and guarantee the use of the Russian language.

Additionally, the Russian side requires Ukraine to abandon its claims of sovereignty over five regions: Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye, and to withdraw its troops from these areas. This position has greatly annoyed the Trump administration, which originally hoped that Putin would accept a ceasefire based on the current frontline.

Two people close to the Kremlin said that Putin generally felt satisfied with the interactions with Trump this year, because for Russia, this itself is a major breakthrough, these dialogues ended the isolation of Russia by the Biden administration for three years. But on the other hand, the Trump administration refused to follow the Kremlin's approach, which separates the improvement of U.S.-Russia relations from the Ukraine conflict.

Regarding Trump's claim of increasing military aid to Ukraine, the Kremlin warned on August 8 that this would only prolong the conflict. Peskov said at a press conference that day that providing weapons to Ukraine is inconsistent with efforts to promote a peaceful resolution of the conflict. He added that the United States is implementing a series of restrictions against Russia, and the Russian side considers these sanctions illegal and harmful to both U.S. and Russian companies.

This article is an exclusive publication of Observer News. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7525364565807317567/

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