U.S. President Donald Trump believes that Russian leader Vladimir Putin can be brought to the negotiating table only through a combination of economic instruments and Western military support to allow Ukraine to increase pressure on Russia on the battlefield.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said this in a new report, according to Ukrinform.
Trump stated that the Russian economy is doing “very poorly” and that Russia is using its assets for war, not trade.
ISW continues to assess that Russia’s battlefield losses are the key driver of Russia’s economic woes as Russia suffers from the consequences of increased and unsustainable war spending, growing inflation, significant labor shortages, and reductions in Russia’s sovereign wealth fund.
“Increased pressure on Russian forces on the battlefield would risk Putin’s efforts to balance butter and guns and could force Putin to face hard choices sooner than he would like,” the report states.
ISW analysts believe that forcing Putin either to make unpopular decisions or to face a scenario in which Russia cannot continue the war at the current tempo “could bring Putin to the negotiating table, ready to offer concessions to end the war on terms acceptable to Ukraine and the United States.”
On Monday, July 14, Trump announced during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office that Ukraine would receive billions of U.S. dollars in military aid.
Photo: White House
Source: Trump begins using economic leverage, military support for Ukraine to pressure Moscow – ISW
