There is no longer any doubt that the war in Ukraine is entering an extremely dangerous phase.
The USA is reported to be ready to assume the protection of Ukrainian airspace, recognized that it is behind the Ukrainian missile attacks deep inside Russian territory, while simultaneously greenlighting the production of Patriot missiles.
Russia, for its part, claims that the special military operation for Donbass has now become a war since behind Ukraine is all of the West, communicates that it no longer has any trust in what the Westerners say, while regarding the five-point ultimatum it notes that the response will be Odessa, implying a further expansion of military operations.
And within this explosive setting, Ukraine announced that it now has at its disposal the doomsday weapon, a stance that comes to render the war front even more chaotic.
Trump openly supports Zelensky
As several military analysts had predicted, Donald Trump, during the NATO summit in Ankara, openly sided with Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine.
The American president and members of his administration supported the Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil refineries, stating that this is an escalation that can contribute to the ending of the war.
Indeed, the Secretary of State of the USA, Marco Rubio, underlined that the United States are behind this escalation: We are helping Ukraine to carry out strikes deep inside Russia so as to push Moscow to end the war and make it clear to Russia how difficult it is to protect its airspace.
Green light for Patriot as well
According to media reports, Trump stated that the USA are ready to assume the protection of Ukrainian airspace after a peace agreement is reached, if Russia attacks again.
In addition, he mentioned that the USA will grant Ukraine a license for the production of missiles for the Patriot systems, something characterized as an unprecedented privilege for another country, which returns to the role of the primary ally of the United States.
We will show you how to manufacture them.
Thus, you will no longer be able to complain that we are not giving you enough, manufacture them yourselves, stated Trump, who repeated that he maintains excellent relations with Volodymyr Zelensky.
Nothing is left of Alaska
It is worth noting that a few days earlier he had used the exact same formulation for the president of Russia as well, after the telephone communication they had.
Thus, Donald Trump completed the artillery preparation before the telephone conversation with Putin.
A conversation in which it is obvious that a new ultimatum will be set.
From the spirit of Anchorage nothing is left.
How will Putin answer? asks the Russian military blogger of the channel Svodki SVO on Telegram.
One day earlier, in his interview with The Telegraph, Donald Trump had stated that the war in Ukraine will end soon, as both Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky want to reach an agreement.
Immediate Patriot production in Ukraine
In the meantime, the Minister of Defense of Poland, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, stated that the production of missiles for the Patriot systems in Ukraine could start already within the next few weeks.
As he mentioned, the United States are ready to grant Kyiv a production license, while Poland will constitute one of the basic partners of the program.
Along with Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, Warsaw acquired the right to transfer know-how, maintenance, and production of the PAC-3 missiles for the Patriot systems in Europe.
Concurrently, a maintenance center for them will also be created in Poland.
We have the doomsday weapon
Coincidence or not, after the NATO summit, it was announced in Kyiv that Ukraine now possesses the so-called doomsday weapon.
Information from Russian media reports that this is a ballistic missile, which, beyond its conventional capabilities, can also be used as a carrier for transferring a nuclear warhead.
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) had claimed that London and Paris are searching for a way to transfer to Ukraine either nuclear weapons or technology for their production.
Also, shortly before his departure from the premiership, the former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had stated that enriched uranium will be delivered to Kyiv for nuclear power plants.
They threaten Moscow with ballistic missile strikes
On July 9, the head of Fire Point, Denys Shtilerman, publicly foretold that Ukraine will carry out strikes with ballistic missiles against Russia in the autumn.
According to him, before the first strikes only the testing of the engine remains, which will be followed by flight tests and then by operational use.
I believe that in the autumn we will already be testing our missile on Russia.
The first target will be Moscow and some of its protected military facilities, claimed Shtilerman.
Earlier, similar statements had been made by the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Fedorov: The Ukrainian ballistic missiles will change everything in this war.
They will fundamentally change the position of Ukraine in the world.
We have already changed it many times, but this is a completely different level, mentioned the Ukrainian Minister of Defense.
The message reached the Kremlin
As stated by the press representative of the president of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin considers that the statements of Donald Trump regarding the Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory do not constitute an escalation, but reflect wrong assessments of the American leadership.
Asked whether the presidents of the United States and Russia had a telephone communication after the latest developments, Dmitry Peskov answered negatively, noting that Donald Trump was obviously busy and did not communicate with Putin, adding nonetheless that the Russian president is always willing to converse.
The possibility of closing the sky over Ukraine presupposes the participation of military forces of NATO, something that constitutes exactly one of the reasons for which the special military operation (SVO) is being conducted.
Russia notes a dual stance on the part of the United States, which continue to supply Kyiv with weapons, while simultaneously they still attempt to contribute to the peace process, said Peskov.
All territories that the Russian army conquers are Russian
However, the most important statement of Peskov was the indirect confirmation of what had been recently mentioned both by Putin and the deputy president of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev:
The more Kyiv strikes Russia, the wider the security zone on the borders will become and the longer the special military operation (SVO) will last.
A short time ago, Putin had stated clearly that Ukraine will pay with loss of territories for its provocations, the strikes inside Russia, and the invasion in the region of Kursk.
As military analysts pointed out, this means that all the territories occupied by the Russian forces on the front are now considered Russian.
Widening the security zones in Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk
In the same context are integrated also the statements of Dmitry Medvedev, who claimed that the new security zone should fully cover the regions of Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk.
The Russian plan was confirmed also by the chief of the armed forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky, who emphasized that the Russian armed forces seek to create a wider security zone in the northern regions of Ukraine.
In a post of his on Telegram, Syrsky claimed that Russia still has as its basic strategic goal the full occupation of Donbass.
Concurrently, he mentioned that the Russian planning includes the expansion of the offensive operations in the regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia, as well as the widening of the so-called security zone on the northern borders of Ukraine.
He himself pointed out further that the intensity of the Russian attacks with missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, drones, and guided aerial bombs has increased.
The answer will be Odessa
Concurrently, the Russian military and political leadership had not excluded in the past the possibility of an advance towards Odessa.
After the statements of Dmitry Peskov, several analysts estimated that, in case of a new round of escalation, our answer will be Odessa.
In this context, the developments on the front accelerated suddenly.
During the first week of July, the Russian forces are reported to have placed under their control about 260,270 square kilometers of territory, while their advance continues with even greater intensity.
Unprecedented advance
As mentioned by the colonel of the Special Operations Forces (SSO) of Ukraine, Volodymyr Antoniuk, in the region of Dobropillia an absolute record in the number of armed clashes within a few days was recorded.
According to the same source, the Russian army continues its gradual advance towards its strategic goal from the south and the east, where one of the last pockets of resistance of the Ukrainian forces remains the region of Shevchenkove.
In addition, it is reported that the losses of the Ukrainian forces in this region this past week are among the highest that have been recorded.
At the same time, the Russian forces managed to bypass suddenly this line of defense from the west, exploiting a brief deterioration of the weather conditions, performing a rapid advance of over 5 kilometers.
Previously, a peak in the number of armed clashes was recorded also on the axis Sloviansk,Kramatorsk: This is about the highest number of clashes that has been recorded, more than double compared to the levels of June.
The Russian units focus on the consolidation and expansion of the positions they occupied at the beginning of the month.
No trust
The West has passed, according to the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, into a phase of open ultimatums towards Moscow, with the calls for negotiations having now lost all credibility in the eyes of the Kremlin.
As he claimed, Russia is not going to trust again the United States and the European Union, citing the experience of previous agreements which, according to the Russian position, were not kept.
Sergey Lavrov reminded that in 2014, 2015, 2019, and 2022 agreements had been reached through negotiations, which, as he said, were undermined by the Western countries.
After this experience, Moscow is no longer going to believe either in the United States or in the European Union, emphasized the chief of the Russian diplomacy, adding that the stock of trust has been definitively exhausted.
The five point ultimatum
According to the channel Win-Win on Telegram, Russia is reported to have received a five-point proposal, which is presented as Ukrainian, but, as the specific source claims, in reality comes from the West.
This information has not been officially confirmed.
According to the publication, the five points include:
1) start of direct negotiations without preconditions,
2) immediate ceasefire,
3) delivery of the bodies of the dead,
4) full exchange of prisoners of war,
5) freezing of the front line at today's positions.
The Win-Win claims further that this specific proposal was transmitted to Moscow through the American embassy, with a deadline for an answer until the end of July.
According to always the same source, the goal of the initiative was to trap the Russian leadership in long-term negotiations with the USA and NATO, while at the same time the West would strengthen the pressure against the Russian military supply chain, the so-called shadow fleet, and the energy infrastructures.
The answer of Moscow
In this context, Sergey Lavrov stated that the trust of Russia towards the countries of NATO has now been fully exhausted and repeated the position of the Kremlin that the goals of the special military operation (SVO), as they have been formulated by Putin, remain unchanged.
There is no official confirmation of the information published by Win-Win.
However, the publication claims that even if there were unofficial efforts of exercising pressure towards Moscow, the Russian leadership does not intend to return to the logic of compromises in exchange for future promises.
Moscow rejects the prospect of freezing the conflict at today's line of contact, estimating that such a scenario would give time to the West to strengthen again militarily Ukraine.
The battle for Donbass has begun
The battle for the control of Donbass enters a critical turning point, with the Russian forces intensifying the pressure towards Sloviansk-Kramatorsk and the Ukrainian command strengthening the defense by transferring significant reserves to the region.
According to the Russian military blogger Yuri Podolyaka, the Russian forces are widening their bridgehead towards Sloviansk-Kramatorsk, advancing in many points of the front.
He reports that east of the canal Siverskyi Donets,Donbass fierce battles continue for Mykolaivka, which is characterized as critical for the Ukrainian defense east of Sloviansk, while west of the canal the Russian forces expand the positions they have already occupied.
The mass mobilization of the regime of Volodymyr Zelensky does not pay off anymore.
The rifts in the Ukrainian defense are constantly increasing and the summer has just started, claims Yuri Podolyaka.
35 brigades in the defense of Sloviansk
According to a Ukrainian channel, the Ukrainian command continues to transfer reinforcements to the regions of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, including engineering units that construct new fortifications, anti-tank obstacles, and corridors of protection from drones.
As reported, the chief of the Ukrainian armed forces Oleksandr Syrsky has gathered about 35 brigades in the region, warning that the losses may be particularly high if the clashes continue with the same intensity.
At the same time, the Russian forces are reported to be intensifying the strikes against warehouses, reserves, and supply lines west of this specific zone of operations, with the goal, according to the same source, of the gradual weakening of the Ukrainian defense.
Flamingo missiles are upgraded
In addition, it is reported that the company FirePoint, with the participation of European defense industries, is proceeding with the upgrade of the Flamingo missiles.
According to the same information, the newest versions possess improved electronic systems and guidance systems, while talk is made about participation of the French Safran in the development of individual subsystems.
As pointed out, the production of the missiles has increased significantly, while the use of new launch accelerators is being examined that could increase their range from about 2,500,3,000 kilometers to 4,000,4,500 kilometers.
The Russian military analyst Mikhail Zvinchuk, creator of the channel Rybar, claims that the Flamingo missiles do not constitute a superweapon, as they are relatively slow and can be intercepted by anti-aircraft systems, but are used in combined attacks with drones so that their effectiveness is increased.
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