European and American officials believe that Russia's war against Ukraine will continue into next year, acknowledging that the latest US peace initiative has not made significant progress in negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bloomberg reported, citing sources, Ukrinform reported, quoted by BTA.
US President Donald Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff did not make significant progress during talks in Moscow and Kiev over the weekend, according to the publication's sources. Putin has not shown a willingness to soften his position despite signals from Washington that new ideas are needed to revive the negotiations. The Russian president continues to insist on control over Donbas.
According to one of the representatives, Putin has used the visit of the US special envoys to demonstrate strength to the Russian public before the State Duma elections, which will be held from September 18 to 20. He has left the US delegation waiting until the evening for the meeting in the Kremlin. In the meantime, Witkoff and Kushner spent several hours having lunch with Putin's spokesman Kirill Dmitriev at a luxury restaurant in central Moscow.
According to the sources, the trilateral talks involving representatives of the US, Russia and Ukraine could resume after the State Duma elections. However, they are unlikely to bring the countries significantly closer to a peace agreement.
Russia plans to intensify strikes on Ukraine's energy and heating infrastructure over the next six months, while increasing hybrid attacks and political interference in Europe in an attempt to weaken support for Kiev, another official said. Putin also expects Russia to be in a stronger position to end the war by spring next year, while maintaining the stability of an economy that is under increasing pressure.
According to the representative, serious negotiations are unlikely to begin before next year.
For now, Ukraine's allies should focus on supplying interceptor missiles for air defense systems to help Kiev protect its infrastructure and population. European countries plan to purchase Patriot missiles from the United States to help Ukraine repel an expected increase in Russian attacks this winter. The allies are also finalizing a mechanism for using NATO funds under the Ukraine Priority Needs List (PURL) to purchase interceptor missiles, which will subsequently be transferred to Kiev.
Earlier, US Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby said at a meeting of the Contact Group on Providing Defense Assistance to Ukraine that allies should be prepared for the possibility that Russia's war against Ukraine will continue for a longer period, stressing that support for Kiev, primarily from European partners, is of key importance in this situation.