Kathrine Frich
President Vladimir Putin is reportedly preparing to escalate the conflict in Ukraine.
War has a way of silencing moderate voices. When a leader faces mounting pressure at home and a stalemate abroad, the response is rarely to back down.
For one major power, the immediate future looks aggressive.
Refusing the off-ramp
President Vladimir Putin is reportedly preparing to escalate the conflict in Ukraine. According to Reuters cited by Daily Mail, the Russian leader recently lashed out at his own advisers for suggesting peace negotiations based on current front lines.
Instead of seeking an exit, Putin has dug his heels in. Sources close to the Kremlin revealed that he remains entirely focused on capturing the rest of the eastern Donbas region. He views taking the territory as an essential political victory.
This aggressive pivot contradicts recent claims from the international stage. Following phone calls with both leaders last week, Donald Trump suggested that Putin wanted to end the fighting. But Kremlin insiders tell a very different story.
Expanding the targets
A surge of successful Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian fuel depots has shifted the momentum. The resulting petrol shortages have hit millions of Russian citizens, driving Putin’s approval ratings to their lowest point since the invasion began in 2022.
Those domestic embarrassments have reportedly made the Russian president angrier and more determined. He recently warned generals on state television that Russia might seize additional Ukrainian territory beyond the Donbas to create a secure buffer zone.
Some Russian military commentators are now publicly discussing the unthinkable. Former defence officials have suggested bombing industrial hubs in Ukraine, followed by targeted strikes against NATO bases in the Baltic states or Romania.
The cost of advance
Hitting a NATO facility would test the core defence pact of the Western alliance. Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute told Reuters that Moscow might use isolated attacks to fracture NATO unity.
“The Russians would not be aiming for a war with NATO. But it could be used to divide NATO over how to respond,” Watling said.
Fresh troops are vital for any new push. A recent estimate by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies places total casualties at roughly two million since 2022, with 1.4 million of them Russian.
Despite staggering losses, the Kremlin shows no sign of stopping. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia “has enough capability to act independently and continue the special military operation,” leaving little room for peace.
Sources: Daily Mail, Reuters, Centre for Strategic and International Studies
