Putin refused to return part of the occupied territories of Ukraine, he wants a "buffer zone" - Bloomberg

Russia is no longer ready to return some occupied territories to Ukraine as part of any agreement to end the war and plans to keep them as "buffer zones." This is reported by UNN citing Bloomberg.

Details

According to the publication, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin remains determined to establish full control over eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region by force, and now also wants to retain areas of Sumy and Kharkiv regions near the Russian border.

As the publication notes, Putin has abandoned territorial concessions because Russia views increasingly confrontational statements from the United States as evidence that informal agreements reached during his summit in Alaska with President Donald Trump have collapsed.

At the same time, the Kremlin has strengthened its position amid the escalation of Ukrainian strikes deep into Russian territory, including on Moscow, which damaged oil refineries and caused a nationwide fuel shortage. Putin wants Ukraine to cede control over territory in the Donetsk region that his forces failed to capture during hostilities since 2014. Ukraine rejects this demand and has proposed ending the war along existing front lines

Despite this, U.S. President Donald Trump supported a new sanctions bill initiated by the late Senator Lindsey Graham. The document would impose customs duties of up to 100% on the five largest buyers of Russian oil and gas.

Recall

According to Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, Russia this fall is preparing to conduct a mobilization of 500,000 people, whom they plan to throw into battle in the first two weeks to plug holes in eastern Ukraine. Others will be trained for a month for a potential opening of a new front line.