The escalation in the Ukraine war continues, and following Russia's use of intercontinental ballistic missiles and American missiles on Russian territory by Ukraine, Putin's troops have targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure this week with hundreds of drones and missiles. Faced with this increase in attacks, President Zelensky has stated that "this escalation by Putin is a form of pressure ultimately seeking to force the US President to accept Russia's terms."
The Ukrainian president also stated that these threats from the Russian president are an attempt to "sabotage the efforts" of the US President-elect, Donald Trump, to end the war in Ukraine. "Putin wants to escalate the situation now so that President Trump cannot end the war," said the leader of Kiev, who urged his allies to respond firmly to the Kremlin's "blackmail" by increasing their support for Ukraine.
Ukraine is working to convince Trump not to try to impose peace on Russia's terms. Kiev hopes that the US President-elect will pressure Putin so that the negotiation he has promised to promote is not to the detriment of the territory and security demands that Ukraine is making.