By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers

Putin want to grind down their smaller neighbor’s forces and equipment and sap support both among Ukrainian civilians and in the West.

It's a subject we have been covering for some time. According to WSJ, the aggressor state is intensifying its offensive and bombing cities across Ukraine, while Trump’s efforts to broker peace have stalled. At the same time, the U.S. decision to suspend certain arms deliveries to Ukraine has provided Putin with a significant incentive “to press his campaign to erode Western support.”

Putin, during a call with Trump on July 3, made it clear he had no intention of heeding Trump’s calls to end the war and reaffirmed that his objectives remain unchanged. Hours later, Russia launched a massive drone attack on Kyiv, wounding 26 people and killing one.

Putin, during a call with Trump on July 3, made it clear he had no intention of heeding Trump’s calls to end the war and reaffirmed that his objectives remain unchanged. Hours later, Russia launched a massive drone attack on Kyiv, wounding 26 people and killing one.

“Putin’s strategy is aimed at breaking Ukraine’s ability and will to wage war by increasing pressure on its military and civilians, just as its most powerful backer recedes into the background,” the article says.

The authors note that recent developments have only reinforced the Kremlin’s belief that it “can outlast Ukraine and its backers in a war of attrition.” The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War wrote on July 4 that Ukraine would have to ration material resources, which could accelerate Russia’s advances on the battlefield.

According to WSJ, the aggressor state has massed around 50,000 troops along the border with Sumy Oblast. The Russian offensive has stretched Ukraine’s Defense Forces along a 1,200-kilometer front line, forcing Ukrainian commanders “to send some of their best units to plug gaps [in the defenses],” the report says.

The pace of Russia’s assault quickened in the spring, but its gains came at a steep cost, and Moscow has failed to capture a single strategically significant city since Avdiivka in February 2024.

“But capturing territory may no longer be Russia’s top priority at this stage of the war. Instead, some analysts say, Putin wants to grind down his smaller neighbor’s forces and equipment and sap support both among Ukrainian civilians and in the West,” the authors suggest.

Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi said last month that Ukraine cannot defeat Russia by staying on the defensive.

At the same time, Ukraine is stepping up long-range strikes on Russian production sites and military equipment, weakening Russia’s ability to wage war, WSJ notes. Syrskyi said Ukraine’s long-range drones are inflicting damage worth 15 times more than the cost of the drones themselves.

Ukrainian defenders in Kharkiv Oblast are firing a ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun.

Ukraine is also “targeting Russian military leaders and scientists,” the article adds, citing the recent killing of Russian Deputy Navy Commander Maj. Gen. Mikhail Gudkov in Kursk Oblast.

Later in a video address, Zelenskyy said he and Trump had agreed “to organize a meeting between the teams to strengthen air defense.”

Trump said he was disappointed with his call on July 3 with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The U.S. leader admitted he had made “no progress” in efforts to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine.

 

 

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