Bloomberg: Russia plans to intensify attacks on Ukraine through the winter, and serious peace talks are ‘unlikely’ before 2027

U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys made no progress toward peace during their visit to Moscow. Instead, Russia plans to intensify its attacks on Ukraine through the winter, testing Ukraine’s ability to resist and the resolve of Kyiv’s allies, sources told Bloomberg.

One source told Bloomberg that over the next six months, Russia plans to step up strikes on Ukraine’s energy and heating infrastructure to try to make people’s lives unbearable. The source said Russia also plans to intensify hybrid attacks and political interference in Europe to try to undermine support for Kyiv.

One source told Bloomberg that Vladimir Putin expects to be in a stronger position next spring. Another said serious peace talks are unlikely before next year.

Bloomberg’s sources said Putin has shown no signs of softening his position, despite recent signals from the United States that new ideas are needed to restart stalled peace talks.

Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, arrived in Moscow on September 5 and met with Putin before traveling to Kyiv the next day. During talks in Kyiv, the two sides broadly acknowledged that the war was unlikely to end before winter, and Witkoff and Kushner discussed ways to help Ukraine through a difficult period, sources told the Financial Times.

Putin ordered a three-day pause in strikes on Kyiv during Witkoff and Kushner’s visits to Moscow and Kyiv. Volodymyr Zelensky promised that Ukraine would ensure the “normal functioning of Russian airspace so that the negotiators can arrive safely.” Russia resumed strikes on Kyiv on September 8.