Putin threatens Europe: "We don't want war, but if it starts, we are prepared."

MoscowVladimir Putin wanted to send three messages to Donald Trump before receiving his envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, at the Kremlin to discuss the peace plan for Ukraine. Aware that expectations for significant progress from the meeting were minimal and that the encounter would not generate major headlines, the Kremlin leader sought to shape the narrative. The meeting lasted almost five hours and, according to Russian presidential advisor Yuri Uyxakov, did not result in any compromises between the parties. "We did not discuss specific formulations, but rather the essence," he said afterward, describing the meeting as "constructive, very useful, and informative," and adding that efforts toward a long-term peace would continue. Uyxakov also ruled out a future meeting between Putin and Trump in the near future.

The three gestures by the Russian president that preceded the meeting are not accidental and define the Kremlin's current position: first, a threat to European countries that Russia is prepared for a confrontation if they provoke it, and an accusation against Brussels of wanting to undermine the cones. conditions that Russia cannot acceptThe second is the long wait he subjected his guests to, demonstrating who sets the pace of the negotiations; and the third is his visit to an army command post, dressed in military uniform, to proclaim the conquest of Pokrovsk without evidence.

Each of these elements has a different purpose, but the same target: the President of the United States. The Russian leader is striving to appear open to dialogue and points to Ukraine and its European allies as the belligerent party. To this end, before the meeting, he addressed the media to accuse Europe of "obstructing President Trump," "blocking the peace process," and presenting changes to the American proposal that are "absolutely unacceptable" to Russia.

In other words, Putin is seeking an alibi, should the negotiations derail, to blame Zelensky and his partners for Trump abandoning the mediation and withdrawing support for Ukraine. He is also maintaining a defiant tone. "We will not go to war with Europe, I've said it a hundred times. But if Europe suddenly wants to fight and starts [the war], we are prepared right now," he warned. He added that the defeat of the European bloc would be of such magnitude that "there wouldn't even be anyone left to negotiate a peace agreement." Last week, the Russian president called it "ridiculous" that Brussels was asking Moscow to put in writing its commitment not to attack European countries, although he didn't object.

Putin sets the pace

The Russian president also wanted to make it clear to the US president that he will need to be patient and can forget about the quick agreement he is so eager to secure. Therefore, at the scheduled time for the meeting, while Witkoff and Kushner were strolling through downtown Moscow accompanied by Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev, Putin was beginning a speech at an economic forum. This is not the first time Witkoff has had to wait for his Russian host: in March, it took eight hours to receive him, only to leave without persuading the Russian leader to accept Washington and Kyiv's offer of a 30-day ceasefire.

The Kremlin is in no hurry because it wants to ensure that all the clauses of the peace plan meet its demands and do not leave unanswered issues that are existential for Moscow. Until the points on which neither side is willing to concede are resolved—the discussion about territories and security guarantees—Putin will maneuver to prolong the negotiations and conduct them in a structured way, in order to address every detail.

The Fall of Pokrovsk

Furthermore, for the Kremlin, each passing day is a day in which it feels stronger on the battlefield. If two weeks ago, when the US peace plan for Ukraine was beginning to be discussed, announced the conquest of KupianskIn the last few hours, ready to receive Donald Trump's emissaries, his generals have informed him about the alleged occupation of Pokrovsk, a Ukrainian defensive stronghold in Donetsk, and Vovchansk, in Kharkiv. However, Kyiv denies this, and no independent military analyst confirms it.

The announcement of the "liberation" of Pokrovsk is intended to convince Trump that the fall of all of Donetsk is only a matter of time and that if he does not force Volodymyr Zelensky to sign a favorable agreement in Moscow, conditions for Ukraine will only worsen.

Pokrovsk, a former railway hub that, before the Russian siege, was a key supply point for the eastern front, has become an obsession for Russia in recent months, which needs a symbolic victory before the end of the year. Its troops have been fighting in the vicinity of this town for almost a year and a half, and According to experts, it is a matter of weeks before it ends up completely under Russian control.

Putin has already warned that if Zelensky does not hand over all of Donbas, he will take it by force and, if necessary, will fight "to the last Ukrainian." In another threatening gesture, during his visit to the command post, the Russian leader again ordered the creation of a "buffer zone" along the Ukrainian border, in the territories that Russia did not annex in the Constitution but currently occupies. This would allow the Kremlin to use the parts it controls in the Kharkiv, Sumi, Chernihiv, or Dnipropetrovsk regions to exchange for the areas of Donetsk, Kherson, or Zaporizhzhia that it has not yet conquered.