Axios: Putin warns Trump of new offensive. In Ukraine, they talk about the failed old one

US President Donald Trump may have changed his rhetoric on Russia and Ukraine after a phone call to dictator Vladimir Putin on July 3. The latter said that within the next 60 days there will be a, , reports Axios, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

During the conversation, Putin allegedly made it clear that during this period he would make new efforts to occupy territories up to the administrative borders of some regions.

After that conversation, in a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump said Putin "wants to take everything," the source said. In the following days, he said, the plan to create weapons turned from an idea to something more concrete.

A possible new "large-scale offensive" by Russia was reported by and the German tabloid Bild. The offensive is supposed to take place by the end of the summer and will involve 30,000 North Korean soldiers. The offensive is supposed to extend beyond Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Head of the Center for Countering Information Andriy Kovalenko said that this is not a new Russian offensive. Kremlin plans to continue "meat assaults" in the east as part of its failed 2024 offensive.

"Back in 2024, Putin set a goal of capturing Ukrainian cities in the east, but the Defense Forces thwarted these plans. All Russia has been doing since then is throwing in more and more reserves. They haven't invented anything new now either. It's just a change in the intensity of one offensive that has been going on for over a year," he said .

• After speaking with Putin, Trump said he was disappointed, because no progress was made. The Kremlin said that the dictator informed the US president that does not intend to abandon his plans in Ukraine.
• On July 8, Trump said that Putin talks a lot of bullshit, but his behavior was meaningless. He is "very seriously" considering an upcoming bill for new sanctions.
• On July 9, CNN released an audio recording in which Trump said he threatened Putin "to bomb the hell out of Moscow.".
• According to the NYT, Putin is convinced that Ukraine's defense will collapse in the coming months. He seems confident of his victory.