A troubling report from Kremlin insiders suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unfazed by President Trump’s recent threats, including the possibility of sharply increasing tariffs on Russian goods and supplying Ukraine with long-range missile systems. The report, shared with Reuters, portrays a Kremlin leadership that is prepared for an extended war and willing to expand its military operations if pressed by the West.
According to three sources close to the Kremlin, Putin remains committed to continuing the war in Ukraine until the West, particularly the United States, agrees to negotiate peace on Russia’s terms. This includes the possibility of further territorial expansion, which Putin would demand to be recognized in any future agreement.
The sources downplayed Trump’s shift in posture since July 4, when he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky whether he could strike Moscow with long-range missiles. Even Trump’s threats to impose 100% tariffs on Russian imports if no agreement is reached within fifty days have reportedly done little to change Putin’s calculus.
“Putin believes that his army and economy are resilient enough to withstand additional Western pressure,” one insider explained, noting that Russia has already endured the harshest sanctions ever imposed on the country.
As previously reported by Matzav.com, Trump has recently expressed frustration over Putin’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire and announced a new weapons package for Ukraine, including advanced Patriot missile systems and offensive weaponry. “We have the best weapons in the world, and the Europeans know it,” Trump declared.
Despite multiple conversations between Trump and Putin, and visits to Moscow by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, Kremlin officials insist there has been no serious diplomatic dialogue regarding the terms of a peace deal. One official noted that while Putin values his relationship with Trump and the talks with Witkoff, Russian national interests remain paramount. The White House declined to comment on the report.
Putin’s demands include a formal guarantee that NATO will not expand eastward, Ukrainian neutrality, limitations on Ukraine’s military, protection for Russian speakers, and international recognition of Russia’s current territorial holdings. He is also reportedly open to a plan in which global powers offer security guarantees to Ukraine, though how that might work in practice remains unclear.
On the other side, Ukrainian President Zelensky has stated that Ukraine will never recognize Russian sovereignty over the territories it has captured and maintains Kyiv’s right to join NATO.
Another Kremlin insider stated that Putin is prepared to suffer further economic setbacks so long as he continues to advance his strategic goals. Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on countries like China and India for purchasing Russian oil, the source said, has not alarmed the Kremlin. In fact, two sources claimed that Russia currently has the upper hand militarily and that its wartime economy is producing munitions, including artillery shells, at a pace exceeding that of NATO countries.
Russia now controls roughly one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory, having gained over 1,400 square kilometers in the last three months alone, according to data from the open-source intelligence site DeepStateMap. “Appetite comes with eating,” one official remarked, hinting that Putin may expand operations even further. Two additional sources confirmed this assessment.
To date, Russia has taken full control of Crimea (since 2014), all of Luhansk, most of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, and parts of Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Putin’s official position is that these five eastern regions, along with Crimea, are now part of Russia. Any future agreement, he insists, must begin with Ukraine’s withdrawal from those territories.
According to the Kremlin, Putin may push forward until Ukrainian defenses collapse, potentially adding the entire Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk regions to his objectives. However, if Russian forces encounter heavy resistance, he may halt operations at the current front lines. “Russia will act based on Ukraine’s weakness,” one source said. “If Ukraine falls, the occupation will expand.”
President Zelensky has pushed back against these predictions, saying the summer offensive has not gone as Putin had hoped. Ukrainian commanders admit Russia has a numerical advantage but say their forces are holding the line and exacting a steep price from Moscow for every advance.
U.S. intelligence estimates around 1.2 million people have been killed or wounded in the conflict, making it the deadliest war in Europe since World War II. Russia rejects these figures as Western propaganda, and neither side has released full casualty statistics.
Trump’s proposal for an unconditional ceasefire, which Ukraine quickly accepted, has yet to be acknowledged by Putin. Meanwhile, Russia continues to launch waves of drone attacks on Ukrainian cities. Still, in an interview published Tuesday, Trump said he has not given up on reaching an agreement with the Russian leader.
One Kremlin official rejected Trump’s claim that Putin was “throwing nonsense in the air,” saying the real issue has been the inability to move past initial positive conversations with Witkoff toward a substantive peace framework.
Despite sanctions and mounting war costs, Russia’s $2 trillion economy is performing better than expected. The Russian Ministry of Economy projects 2.5% growth in 2025, following 4.3% growth this past year.
According to one of the sources, Trump has limited leverage over Putin. Even if the U.S. were to sanction buyers of Russian oil, the Kremlin is confident it could bypass restrictions and continue accessing global markets. “Putin understands that Trump is unpredictable and may act in unpleasant ways, but he’s trying to maneuver carefully not to provoke him further,” the source said.
Kremlin officials anticipate the crisis could escalate further in the coming months, heightening the risk of a direct confrontation between the world’s two largest nuclear powers. As one insider concluded: “The war is not ending anytime soon.”
{Matzav.com}