U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to cut American support and withdraw from peace talks between Russia and Ukraine has stirred concern in Kyiv, as Ukrainian officials and soldiers brace for a potentially bloody Russian summer offensive that could reshape the course of the war, according to The Financial Times.
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The paper reported that Ukrainian officials and soldiers believe their push for a 30-day ceasefire reflects rising expectations that the years-long Russian war could soon end.
However, Ukrainian officials noted that Russia has shown no signs of scaling back its military aggression or offering meaningful concessions. A recent meeting in Turkey, they added, convinced Kyiv’s negotiators that peace remains distant.
A senior Ukrainian official warned that Russia could resume its assault and move to seize the northern regions of Sumy and Kharkiv, as echoed by a top Russian negotiator.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that his forces were “establishing a security buffer zone” along the Ukrainian border — a term previously used to justify cross-border incursions.
The Financial Times suggests that Washington’s wavering support has only emboldened the Russian leader. After a lengthy conversation with Putin last Monday, Trump reportedly urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to reach a peace deal.
European governments have also been slow to fulfill their security commitments — including a proposed “security assurance force” that has yet to materialize. Some in Kyiv fear it never will.
Yehor Firsov, a member of Ukraine’s parliament and drone unit commander in the 109th Brigade, stated, “Putin is convinced he can crush Ukraine. He simply believes our total surrender is a matter of time. The U.S. could stop aid at any moment, and he sees Europe as weak and indecisive.”
Across Ukraine’s 1,000-kilometer front line, the war has settled into a brutal and deadly rhythm. Moscow is reportedly regrouping for what soldiers and analysts say could be a major new offensive in the coming months.
Ukrainian troops on the eastern front told the newspaper that Russian infantry move quickly using motorcycles, small vehicles, and electric bikes. Saeed Ismailov, a soldier and former senior Muslim cleric in Ukraine, likened them to a “swarm of locusts — not one big wave, but an endless stream… They don’t care about casualties. They just keep coming.”
Fighting has intensified around Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in recent weeks, adding pressure on strongholds like Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and pushing closer to Dnipropetrovsk’s border.
Russia’s advances have been reinforced by high-tech heavy weaponry and infantry pushing through with glide bombs, missiles, and drones — including new models connected via fiber optic cables, making them immune to electronic jamming.
Ukrainian forces have had to withdraw from towns like Toretsk and Chasiv Yar due to the unsustainable cost of holding ground.
Yet Franz-Stefan Gady, a military analyst based in Vienna, noted that Ukrainians “still remain a formidable defensive force,” adding, “We can expect gradual Russian advances, but not imminent collapses or front-line breakdowns.”
He pointed out that Ukraine has become less reliant on U.S. artillery supplies, thanks to growing European contributions, and said Russia’s advantage in artillery firepower is now only marginal.
A deputy commander of an assault unit near Pokrovsk said his forces were still holding out — but exhausted. This exhaustion and frustration, he noted, stem from a growing sense of having no clear plan to end the war.
Oleksandr Sherstin, commander of a battalion in the elite 47th Mechanized Brigade, expressed his concerns on social media this week. Despite his unit being equipped with U.S.-made Abrams tanks and German Leopard tanks — both symbols of Western support — he wrote that "even the best equipment cannot make up for flawed planning that puts our men in danger."
The war has exposed deep-rooted weaknesses in Ukraine’s command structure. Konrad Muzyka, director of the defense consultancy Rochan, said that fixing these issues is difficult "in the midst of the most intense war since World War II."
At a Kremlin economic development meeting earlier this month, Putin claimed that as many as 60,000 Russians “volunteer” to join the army every month — double Ukraine’s estimated monthly total of around 30,000.
Ukraine, however, has resisted lowering the military conscription age below 25 despite pressure from the U.S. and allies. The country’s public mobilization campaign remains plagued by corruption and forced conscription, including reports of draft officers detaining unregistered men from the streets and forcing them into trucks.
A recruitment drive targeting men aged 18–24 has largely failed, with only a few hundred applicants, according to The Financial Times.
A rare bright spot for Ukraine has been its domestic production of drones, which can inflict significant damage and slow Russian advances.
Still, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former top general and now ambassador to the UK, warned against expecting “some kind of miracle that would bring peace to Ukraine.”
“In the face of massive shortages in manpower and a catastrophic economic situation, we are left to talk only about a high-tech war of survival,” he said. “Ukraine’s priority is to fight in a way that uses minimal human and economic resources for maximum effectiveness.”
Drone attacks are also increasing. Russia launched more than 2,000 Iranian-made Shahed drones in the first 20 days of May alone. While Kyiv has improved its ability to distinguish between decoys and warhead-equipped drones, the sheer number is overwhelming.
Russia has also upgraded its drones, which now fly higher and faster — making them harder to shoot down with conventional machine guns. Often, only Patriot systems and F-16 jets — both rare — are effective against them.
Ukraine lost one of its F-16s in mid-May during an aerial mission. Although the pilot ejected safely after downing three targets, many soldiers and officials now believe the country must brace for a long, uneven conflict.
