Description: According to several media outlets, citing unidentified sources, during a phone call between US President Trump and Ukraine’s Zelenskyy on 04 Jul, Trump asked whether Ukraine’s military forces could target Moscow or Saint Petersburg if the US provided the adequate military hardware. White House spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, has denounced the claims stating that Trump had invested vast amounts of political capital in the negotiations with Russia and Ukraine as the President was working towards ending the war. Former Russian President, Dimitry Medvedev, following the US renewed supply of weapons to Ukraine and the threats of sanctions, stated that Russia was prepared to sustain any impediment imposed by the US whether it’s from economic hampering or military assistance to Ukraine’s forces. Trump has recently demonstrated drastic shifts in his public statements towards Russia, expressing his disappointment with President Putin as the Russian aggression upon Ukraine continues to grow. Medvedev’s statements were confirmed by Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, who also stated that Russia remained determined to achieve its wartime goals and was prepared to resist the pressure from western countries aimed at pushing Russia towards negotiating. Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, speaking to Hungarian media outlets, reaffirmed his country’s demands for ending the war, which were comprised of international recognition of Russian occupied territories, Ukraine’s disarmament and neutrality, the lifting of sanctions, as well as receiving legal guarantees that NATO would not expand east, into what he called the Russian sphere of influence.
Impact: The most recent US repositioning regarding the war in Ukraine reconfigures the previously predetermined positions from Russia and the US regarding the war in Ukraine. Russia has downplayed the effect of Trump’s 50 – day ultimatum coupled with sanctions and military assistance to Ukraine which signals strategic preparedness to prolong the war for an unspecified period of time. Global economic projections support the claims from the Russian political echelon as the country’s economy marked a lower slowdown of 2.5% in the first half of 2025 compared to 4.3% during the entire 2024. The lack of diplomatic consistency from the US side and the constantly shifting positions regarding ultimatums and aid to Ukraine effectively allow Russia to manipulate and navigate the public narrative in their favor, as they continue to outmaneuver the US and avoid engaging into forced negotiations for peace or ceasefire. Ukraine’s defenses would be reinvigorated by the renewed support in military equipment, however, without consolidated diplomatic backing from their western allies the war shows no signs of stopping. Russia currently shows no incentive of changing or modifying its position counting on unequivocal support from its strategic allies such as North Korea and China.