Vladimir Putin unlikely to agree to ceasefire in Ukraine despite Trump ultimatum

Irish Independent

2 days ago

Mr Trump has threatened to hit ­Russia with new sanctions and impose 100pc tariffs on countries that buy its oil, ­including China and ­India, unless Putin agrees to a ceasefire in Russia's war in Ukraine.
Putin's goal is to fully capture the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which Russia has claimed as its own, and then to talk about a peace agreement, a source told news agency Reuters.
The Russian leader does not want to anger Mr Trump, and he realises that he may be spurning a chance to improve relations with Washington and the West, but his war goals take precedence, the sources said. Moscow's stated demands include a full Ukrainian withdrawal from the four regions and acceptance by Kyiv of neutral status and limits on the size of its military – demands rejected by Ukraine.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Moscow today in an attempt to convince Putin to sign a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he had a 'productive' phone call with Mr Trump as Russia ramped up its attacks, despite a deadline set by the US leader for Moscow to end its full-scale invasion.
Mr Zelensky raised Russia's increasingly intense attacks on Ukraine during the call, he said in a post on X yesterday, referring to a barrage last Thursday which killed 31 in Kyiv.
The two leaders also discussed commitments by European nations to buy US-made weaponry to transfer to Ukraine, as well as bilateral defence co-operation with the US, Mr Zelensky said.
Their call came after Mr Trump drastically shortened his deadline for Putin to comply with his calls for a truce with Ukraine or face further sanctions. On July 14, the US president initially announced a 50-day deadline – which would have fallen on September 2. The new deadline falls on Friday.
The US administration has cast the penalties as likely to take the form of so-called secondary sanctions on countries purchasing Russian energy.
Washington and other capitals allied with Kyiv view the oil trade with Moscow as a form of tacit support for the Russian economy, undercutting pressure to end a war now in its fourth year.
This week the US president said he would raise tariffs on Indian exports to the US over New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil.
Nevertheless, Putin dismissed the pressure from the US for a ceasefire last week, reiterating that his war goals in Ukraine remain unchanged.
Their economy continues to decline, and that's exactly why Moscow is so sensitive to this prospect
Sanctions on Russia itself were among the issues discussed on the call with Mr Trump, Mr Zelensky said.
'Their economy continues to decline, and that's exactly why Moscow is so sensitive to this prospect and President Trump's resolve,' Mr Zelensky said after the call. 'This can change a lot.'
Meanwhile, Nato has started co-ordinating regular deliveries of large weapons packages to Ukraine after the Netherlands said it would provide air-defence equipment, ammunition and other military aid worth €500m.
Sweden also announced yesterday that it would contribute $275m (€238m) to a joint effort along with its neighbours Denmark and Norway to provide $500m worth of air defences, anti-tank weapons, ammunition and spare parts.
Two deliveries of equipment, most of it bought in the US, are expected this month, although the Nordic package is expected to arrive in September. The equipment is supplied based on Ukraine's priority needs on the battlefield.
Nato allies then locate the weapons and ammunition and send them on.
'Packages will be prepared rapidly and issued on a regular basis,' Nato said on Monday.
Air-defence systems are in greatest need. The United Nations has said that Russia's relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians.
Russia's bigger army is also making slow and costly progress along the 1,000km front line.
Currently, it is waging an operation to take the eastern city of Pokrovsk, a logistical hub whose fall could allow it to drive deeper into Ukraine.
European allies and Canada are buying most of the equipment they plan to send from the US, which has greater stocks of ready military supplies.
The Trump administration is not giving any arms to Ukraine.
The new deliveries will come on top of other pledges of military equipment.