The Wall Street Journal: "Putin is preparing a summer of brutal strikes on Ukraine"
Main points from the article:
Moscow is intensifying ground operations and bombing Ukrainian cities — the war is entering its fourth summer.
The decision by the US to suspend part of the arms supplies to Ukraine strengthens Putin's positions, weakening Western support for Kyiv.
- Among the weapons whose supplies have been halted by the US are air defense interceptors that helped protect Ukrainian cities from increasing air attacks.
- During a conversation with Trump, Putin reaffirmed his goals — control over Ukraine and cessation of Western aid.
- Several hours after the conversation, Kyiv was subjected to a large-scale drone and missile strike, with injuries reported.
- Putin's strategy is to break Ukraine's will to resist by increasing pressure on the army and the population, while the US retreats.
- Ukraine faces ongoing attacks, and Trump's attempts to establish peace have reached a dead end — no new negotiations are underway.
- Russia has concentrated about 50,000 soldiers in the northern Sumy region, moving 20 km closer to the regional center — a new direction of attack. The force ratio is 3:1 in favor of Russia.
- Ukraine is currently holding back the offensive, but this exhausts its limited forces. Russia is attacking along the entire front, forcing commanders to redeploy better units to close the "gap".
