US President Donald Trump increased pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (local time) by publishing a strongly worded editorial calling on Washington to abandon concessions and take a tougher line against Moscow. The move came amid growing frustration over Ukraine’s stalled peace efforts.The editorial entitled Putin’s “attack cries” show that Russia is the one standing in the way of peace and published in the New York Post said Russia was “opposed to Trump’s agenda” around the world. In addition, there were calls not to make any “further concessions” to the country and instead to opt for a “bigger stick”.
“The answer should not be more concessions, but a bigger stick. Kyiv has done its part. “The onus should be on Putin to toughen up or face tougher sanctions and deadlier weapons in Ukraine,” the editorial said.“Despite his defiance, Putin’s actions smack of a deteriorating domestic situation. His economy is stagnating. Propaganda is rampant as soldiers return with missing limbs. His victory is neither immediate nor inevitable. Spare us his crocodile tears and turn up the heat,” it said.The editorial points to Trump’s optimistic assessment earlier this week after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about progress toward a peace deal and contrasts it with the setback that followed Monday’s phone call with Putin, in which the Russian leader said Moscow would toughen its stance in the talks and referred to an alleged Ukrainian drone strike on one of his residences.The editorial pointed to Putin’s support for Iran, saying: “Look beyond Ukraine. Russia has long supported Iran and this week launched three communications satellites for the Islamic regime. It called for ‘restraint’ as Trump threatened to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities again. Putin supports Nicolas Maduro’s corrupt, drug-smuggling regime in Venezuela and opposes Trump’s operations there.”Russian authorities on Thursday accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone strike during New Year’s celebrations in a Russian-controlled village in Ukraine’s Kherson region, killing 24 people and wounding at least 50. This underlines the sharp escalation in hostilities, even as diplomats spoke of progress in peace efforts. Zelensky, meanwhile, said Russia continued its nearly four-year war into the new year by firing more than 200 drones into Ukraine, with the attacks largely targeting the country’s energy facilities.“Russia is deliberately bringing war into the new year – by launching more than two hundred attack drones against Ukraine overnight,” he said
