Putin resists peace talks, signals possible escalation in Ukraine war

On July 6, Ukrainian drones struck the Omsk refinery in Siberia, around 2,700 kilometers from Ukrainian-held territory. The Gazpromneft-owned plant processed about 23 million metric tons last year, or roughly 460,000 barrels per day.

Vladimir Putin is resisting calls to negotiate peace with Kyiv and is instead likely to intensify the war, even as Donald Trump says a settlement is closer than people realize. The shift follows Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries and ports. Trump held separate calls with Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week, then said on Monday that Putin wanted the war to end. He met Zelenskiy at the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday, where the Ukrainian president said they discussed ideas to bring peace closer. NATO leaders gathered on July 7-8 at the Beştepe Presidential Complex, reaffirmed Article 5 and announced more than $139 billion in additional core defense investments since the 2025 Hague summit, more than €50 billion in new procurement deals and over $40 billion over five years for counter-drone capabilities.

The Kremlin’s public line remained unchanged. Dmitry Peskov said Russia was ready for a peaceful resolution, but had enough capability to continue what Moscow still calls a special military operation. Moscow’s bargaining position centers on a demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donetsk, a condition Kyiv rejects, and the conflict is now in its fifth year with both sides deadlocked. A senior Ukrainian official said intelligence assessments point to Putin preparing further steps, including possible new operations in Ukraine or an attack on another European country.

Ukraine’s General Staff blamed the strike for a fire; local Omsk authorities said Russian air defenses destroyed most of the drones and there were no casualties.

Overnight into July 8, Ukrainian drones hit three Russian oil refineries, tankers on the Sea of Azov and pipeline pumping stations, while the Baltic Sea export ports of Ust-Luga and Vysotsk were also struck. Those attacks have at times triggered acute fuel shortages across Russia’s 11 time zones.