Reuters: Putin doesn't believe in Trump's sanctions threats, while generals vow Ukraine will fall

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin doubts that US President Donald Trump will really fulfill his ultimatum on sanctions if a peace agreement with Ukraine is not signed by August 8. This was told to Reuters by interlocutors close to the Kremlin.

According to them, Putin's determination to continue a full-scale war and not to negotiate is dictated by his belief in Russia's victory and skepticism about the impact of US sanctions on the country's economy amid "successive waves of sanctions over the past three years.".

The second source said the threat of sanctions was "painful and unpleasant" for Russia, but the Kremlin has a feeling that "they can't change much," the third said. Besides, Trump has made threats before, so it is unclear whether he will follow through this time, they said .

In addition, neither the people of Russia nor its army will understand if the war is stopped now, the interlocutors said.

Russian General Staff officers promised the dictator that the Ukrainian front would collapse in two or three months, the first of them said. Also, he said, Putin is allegedly concerned about the deterioration of relations with the United States and Trump's irritation. But at the same time, he realizes that he may be missing a chance to improve them, as "military goals are more important," the other two interlocutors said .

One of the interlocutors confirmed that the dictator is still committed to the goals that voiced in 2024: to completely seize Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and only then to start negotiating peace.

"If Putin succeeded in fully occupying the four regions he has declared Russian territory, he could claim that his war in Ukraine has achieved its goals," said James Rogers, author of the forthcoming book Russia's Return.

The first interlocutor noted that Russia's participation in the talks with Ukraine in Istanbul is an attempt to convince the United States that the Kremlin is not rejecting peace. However, according to him, only humanitarian exchanges of prisoners are being discussed, and there is no "real content".

"President Trump wants to stop the killing, so he's selling U.S. weapons to NATO members and threatening Putin with stiff tariffs and sanctions if he doesn't agree to a ceasefire," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in response to a request for comment.

• on July 28, Trump shortened his 50-day ultimatum to Putin and gave him "10 or 12 days" to conclude a peace deal, otherwise, secondary duties will be applied to buyers of Russian resources .
• However, on July 29, the US president said that Putin has 10 days to end the war against Ukraine. At the same time, he believes that the settlement of the war in Ukraine will take a long time .
• On July 31, US diplomat Kelly said, that an agreement between Russia and Ukraine should be reached by August 8, otherwise the US will be ready to take additional measures to ensure peace.
• On August 6 or 7 US special envoy Steve Whitkoff will visit Russia. According to Trump, Moscow wanted to meet with him before the deadline set by Washington.