new threats from Vladimir Putin

This is a new threat from Vladimir Putin towards Westerners. “Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What to say. Let them try. Everyone must know that we haven’t started the serious things yet”, said Vladimir Putin. As the entire G20 meets in Indonesia, this declaration is not just a military challenge. The message is also political, addressed to Western leaders. “Every time there is a big summit, Putin takes the opportunity to send thunderous messages. Putin’s thinly veiled threat is that if the Ukrainians continue, if the West and NATO continue to support Zelensky, we will continue. Take it easy, let me handle this with Zelensky.”explains Peer de Jong, specialist in geopolitics at the Themiis Institute

A new phase of the conflict would then open up, with two possibilities in the weeks to come. “We’ll see what will happen. Either it’s a negotiation operation that takes place, which is perfectly possible, or a military operation that continues in the south to bring Zelensky to his knees”, says Peer de Jong. On the side of the G20, tensions increased on Friday July 8 in the face of Western criticism. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, left the discussion table.