Source: SFGate
“Russian President Vladimir Putin assured U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call Tuesday that Moscow doesn’t harbor aggressive intentions toward Europe, a senior Kremlin official said, after European officials blamed Moscow for sabotage campaigns on their soil. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said meanwhile that U.S. envoys who visited Kyiv presented some ‘very good, worthwhile ideas’ for ending Russia’s 4 1/2-year-old war, adding that he hopes to meet with Trump within two weeks. But Russia remains determined to accomplish its military goals and it believes it is close to winning, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Ukrainian and Western observers, however, believe that Moscow has been unable to make any significant progress on the front line. The war could yet drag on for years as Russia reconstitutes its forces and its defense industry, said U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby. ‘We must be prepared for a protracted conflict and for Ukraine’s requirements to persist in the months and years ahead’, Colby told an online meeting of countries helping Ukraine.” (09/08/26)