„Erwarten Sie kein Wunder“: Ukraine hebt die Russlands Sommeroffensive auf

Donald Trump’s threat to withdraw US support and walk away from Russia-Ukraine peace talks has raised alarm in Kyiv, setting the stage for what Ukrainian officials and soldiers expect to turn into a bloody Russian summer offensive that could reshape the war’s trajectory.

While Ukraine’s leaders continue their push for a 30-day ceasefire, many people are under no illusion about Russia’s years-long war winding down any time soon, Ukrainian officials and soldiers have told the Financial Times.

They argue that Russia shows no sign of scaling back its military assaults or making real concessions. A recent meeting in Turkey, they said, left Kyiv’s negotiators convinced that peace remains a distant prospect.

Washington’s oscillating support for Kyiv has only emboldened the Russian leader. After speaking at length with Putin on Monday, the US president informed Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the two sides should settle the terms of a peace deal among themselves.

European governments, too, have been slow to act on pledges to bolster security, including a proposed “reassurance force” that has yet to materialise and some in Kyiv worry may never come to fruition.

Yehor Firsov, an MP and drone unit commander in Ukraine’s 109th Brigade, said it’s time his country faces the “harsh reality” that Russia’s confidence may outlast western unity.

“Putin is convinced he can break Ukraine,” he said. “He simply believes our complete capitulation is only a matter of time . . . the US might stop its aid any day now. He sees Europe as weak and indecisive.”