Despite the attempts by US President Donald Trump to persuade Russia to sit at the negotiation table, Moscow does not demonstrate the intention to finish the war. On the contrary - according to Ukrainian officials, the Kremlin is preparing for further escalation, including the capture of new territories in eastern and south of Ukraine. About it reports Politico .
According to Politico , during a recent visit to Washington, the deputy head of the Presidential Office Pavel Palis stated that Russia plans to activate fighting in the coming months. In particular, according to him, the Kremlin considers the scenario of capture of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the fall of this fall. After that - the creation of a buffer zone along the northern border of Ukraine by the end of the year.
"Unfortunately, they do not talk about peace. They are preparing for war," - says Palis's word.
Politico special attention to 2025. According to Palis, Moscow has even more large -scale plans: to occupy the territory of Ukraine to the east of the Dnieper, as well as to completely capture the southern regions - Odessa and Mykolaivska. Such a step actually isolates Ukraine from the Black Sea - a strategic route for export of Ukrainian grain.
The publication also notes that, according to military analysts, Russia is preparing to accelerate the pace of offensive actions in the summer. Experts recognize that it will be difficult to maintain such a pace by 2026 even for the army of the Russian Federation, given the limited resources and depleting reserves.
Despite diplomatic initiatives, including the Trump administration's attempts to launch a dialogue, the Kremlin's actions do not show compromise readiness. Western analysts are convinced that Putin's main goals remain unchanged: the complete integration of Ukraine into the Russian influence zone and the conclusion of a new agreement with the West, which will review the current security architecture in Europe.
Against the backdrop of these events, the Russian media published the text of the so -called "Memorandum" of the Kremlin on ceasefire conditions. Among the requirements are the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the temporarily occupied territories of Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions, the cessation of mobilization in Ukraine and even the beginning of demobilization.
The document also requires the presidential elections in Ukraine not later than 100 days after the abolition of martial law and before the peace treaty is signed.
In parallel with the publication of the memorandum, Russia has intensified the fighting in the northern direction. According to the Ukrainian military, the significant forces of the aggressor were transferred to the Sumy region. This coincides with the Kremlin's previous statements about the creation of the so-called "buffer zone" along the Ukrainian-Russian border.
Analysts believe that this approach is the next stage of Moscow's protracted strategy for the gradual annexation of the territories and the imposition of Kiev favorable for the Russian Federation of surrender scenario under the guise of a peace agreement.
