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Putin likes his worst option in Ukraine
['Carl Bildt', 'Carl Bildt Was Sweden S Foreign Minister To', 'Prime Minister To', 'When He Negotiated Sweden S Eu Accession. A Renowned International Diplomat', 'He Served As Eu Special Envoy To The Former Yugoslavia', 'High Representative For Bosnia', 'Herzegovina', 'Un Special Envoy To The Balkans', 'Co-Chairman Of The Dayton Peace Conference. He Is Co-Chair Of The European Council On Foreign Relations.', 'Read More']
The Kyiv Independent
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets in Moscow, Russia, on July 20, 2026, in this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik.
(Alexander Kazakov / Pool / AFP / Getty Images)If Russian President Vladimir Putin were to make a clear-headed assessment of the state of his war with Ukraine, he would seek a ceasefire.
But after talking to Putin, he suddenly abandoned his pursuit of a ceasefire and instead accepted Putin's demand for Donetsk.
Putin believes that striking civilian population centers and critical infrastructure can force Ukraine into submission.
A Vantor satellite image shows burning oil storage tanks emitting dark smoke and smoke-generating vehicles operating on the Crimea Bridge, over the Kerch Strait in Russia-occupied Crimea, Ukraine, on June 22, 2026.